CFB: An Unusual Home
by pugatron
Summary: Carina is a normal eleven year old girl living in an orphanage in Texas, right? What will happen when she receives a mysterious letter delivered by...an owl? A school? Named Hogwarts? In Britain! Follow Carina as she finds out who her friends are during her first adventure at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._**

CFB: Chapter 1

Warm bright rays of sunlight entered the room through a thin flowery curtain. Fast asleep, was a small girl with dark crimson hair. A loud earsplitting shriek broke the peaceful slumber as she shot up in surprise.

'Carina Fay Black!' bellowed a woman from just outside a white door.

In a sleep induced haze, the girl quickly dressed into a pair of light blue jeans, a green shirt, and black converse. 'I'm going!' she yelled back as she grabbed her small leather rucksack and ran out of the small blue room.

'Carina, how many times do I have to tell you?! Do not leave your books in the hallway!' said a tall woman with straight black hair.

'Sorry, Ms. Campbell... ' Carina grumbled as she helped the tall woman up.

Ms. Campbell was a stern woman who ran "Campbell's Girls Home for Orphans" in a small part of Texas. Carina lived there with 10 other girls, but there was no shortage of space as the orphanage was a giant house built in the early 1900's. Today was a special day, as it was Carina's 11th birthday and there was a rush to get everything together at the last minute, like always.

The middle-aged woman's brown eyes softened as she got to her feet. 'Now that I'm up, let's go get things ready for your birthday!" she said with a small smile.

Carina's gray eyes brightened at the mention of her birthday and she walked with Ms. Campbell to the backyard.

Her best friend at the orphanage was Mary. Mary had light brown colored hair and green eyes. She was also taller than Carina, but then again, who wasn't? She was already there, setting up a table with white plates. 'Rina! Happy Birthday!' she screamed as she ran towards Carina.

'Thanks Mary.' said Carina, smiling brightly at her long time friend.

'No problem! Now lets hurry up and set the table for your birthday party!' said Mary.

All the other girls at the orphanage were cooking food for the celebration later in the day. Even Lindsey and Eve, Carina's and Mary's arch-enemies, were helping out. It was a tradition at the orphanage to have a celebratory dinner for the birthday girl. The dinner would always consist of cake and the birthday girls favorite food. In Carina's case, it was bacon cheeseburgers and fries.

'Now girls,' said Ms. Campbell. 'here is some money to go get something special for your birthday. Do not go past the police station or I will not let you out til the end of Christmas, ok?'

'Yes, mam' said both girls, as they pocketed the bills and ran past Ms. Campbell.

'So...' said Mary with a mischievous smile, 'Where do you want to go?'

'Ooh lets go to the Nook!'

'We always go to the Nook'

'Well it's my birthday'

'Fine' grumbled Mary.

The two girls walked the short distance to the small local store called "Daisy's Reading Nook". It was Carina's favorite store, the second being "Pranks, Jokes, and Laughs: Supplies for the Neighborhood Prankster".

'Lets go to Pranksters after, pleeeeasssee' wheedled Mary.

'Alright, but ONLY to look at the supplies.' said Carina, smirking.

Blushing, Mary opened the door to the book store. 'Yes!' screamed Carina as she ran into the never-ending maze of books.

Carina was finally able to buy the book she always read while in the Nook, "The Hobbit".

Walking up to the counter to pay, Daisy smiled at the small girl with her book in hand.

'So...I heard today was a special day' she said with a small glance at Mary.

'Yes, yes it is' said Carina, raising an eyebrow curiously.

'I think that my birthday present for you will be that book you have in your hands there' said Daisy.

'Really!' Carina squealed.

'Yep' said Daisy with a smug smile.

Carina was a small girl, no doubt about it, but when she wanted to, she could crush people. Now was one of those instances.

'You're cru-sh-ing me' said Daisy, enveloped in her small arms.

Letting go, Carina apologized and left the store with a last thank you.

'Now...LETS GO TO PRANKSTERS!' yelled Mary, dragging Carina away.

'Slow down!'

Her request was ignored as they plowed through two glass doors.

'Ahh. The sweet smell of potential pranks.' sighed Mary.

Carina also sighed but with relief at the release of her wrist.

Rubbing her wrist, Carina followed Mary towards the inks so she could stock up before school started. 'Hey! if it isn't my two favorite pranksters!' said a deep voice. 'Hi Max.' said Carina. Mary kept staring in a dreamlike manner; her eyes were glazed over. Carina jabbed her with her elbow.

'Say hi' she hissed.

'OH um hi...' said Mary.

Max was cute in a boyish kind of way. He was tall with sparkling brown eyes and dark brown hair. Mary was infatuated with him, though. She got tongue-tied so bad, it always made Carina laugh.

'Whatcha here for?' asked Max.

'Just getting necessities for the party later.' said Carina in a mischievous way.

'Oh..."necessities"' said Max.

'Yep' said Carina popping the 'p'.

He smiled arrogantly and said 'Can I be a necessity?'

'I don't think so; you can't be used to stain people' smirked Carina, walking away, while dragging Mary with her.

'Wow...' said Mary dreamily.

Leaving Mary to daydream, she grabbed some ink from the shelves, along with some water balloons.

'Maybe I'll throw them at Lindsey and Eve' she thought with a small smile.

'Alright lets go'

'Huh oh ok...'

~CFB~

Carina walked into her room to read a bit before her party. Putting her rucksack down, she sat on her armchair and pulled out "The Hobbit".

After a while, as Bilbo was getting on a pony, a sharp tapping noise came from her window.

'What the hell...' thought Carina as she moved towards it.

A handsome tawny owl was there, with a letter in its claws.

 **R/R: I'll try to update frequently- Call me out on it if something is wrong.**


	2. Chapter 2

CFB: Chapter 2

Opening the window, Carina moved back as to let the owl in. It flew in and sat on the wire frame of her bed. Cautiously, she moved forward to get the letter from its sharp-looking claws. The owl did not even look at her as it stretched out its leg to give her better access. Carina snatched it from its claws and the owl gave her an expectant look.

'What does it want?' thought Carina.

The owl glared at her -actually glared!- and flew off, like it never even happened. The letter was made of a thick parchment, almost like the pages of a book. The writing on it was neat and legible. It read:

 _ **Ms. C. Black  
Room #7  
Campbell's Girls Home for Orphans  
Texas, United States**_

Curious, Carina was about to open the letter when Mary burst in saying 'Come on the food's ready!' Hiding the letter from Mary, she put the letter in her book and followed her out.

'Wow I remember when I turned 11,' said Mary. 'It was magical.'

'Well now I'm 11, so you can't lord it over me' said Carina with a teasing smile.

'Still older' Mary winked.

'Only by a month' pouted Carina

Ms. Campbell was sitting outside with the rest of the girls, who were waiting for us to arrive. 'How nice of you to join us!' said Lindsey sarcastically. Carina shot her a glare and said, 'Well it wouldn't be much of a party without the birthday girl huh?'. Mary snickered at this and sat next to Bianca, one of her fellow orphans and friends. Carina sat next to Mary and Ms. Campbell, as all the birthday girls sat next to her traditionally. Ms. Campbell stood up and said 'We are here to celebrate Carina's 11th birthday. Her favorite food is bacon cheeseburgers with fries, and her favorite cake is Red Velvet. Now, you may eat.'

Carina stopped drooling over her cheeseburger and was the first to take a bite. She moaned and even crammed a couple of fries in while she was chewing.

Mary smirked at her and said, 'Hey Carina, did ya forget how to breathe?'

Carina tried to reply, but it just came out as, ' cor' I di't'

Taking a big gulp, she then corrected, 'Course I didn't'

'Sure' smiled Mary.

After she had eaten her fill of cheeseburgers, it was time for the cake. At once, all the girls sang: 'Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Carina, Happy birthday to you!'. Carina blew out her 11 candles and waited for the inevitable. The chant began soon after: 'TAKE A BITE, TAKE A BITE, TAKE A BITE!'. With a sigh, she went to nibble on a small end of the rectangular cake. But what she hadn't noticed was Mary sneaking up behind her, and she shoved her face into the end of the cake. Everyone started laughing, even Ms. Campbell.

Groaning, she picked up her head said: 'I think my best buddy needs a hug to celebrate with me'

Mary jumped and ran around, trying to evade the frosting-faced Carina that was chasing her.

~CFB~

One cake filled evening later, Carina returned to her room. Mary was already lounging on her bed. With a devious smirk, Carina jumped on her stomach.

'OW! What was that for?!'

'Nothing'

Grumbling, Mary sat up and grabbed Carina's book with the letter still inside.

'Hey… What's this?' she asked while pulling out the creamy envelope.

'I dunno, I didn't get to read it yet' said Carina.

'Let's read it together!'

'Alright let's see what's so important' said Carina, ripping it open.

Together, they read:

 _ **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**_

 _ **Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

 _ **Dear Ms. Black,**_

 _ **We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

 _ **Yours sincerely,**_

 _ **Minerva McGonagall**_

 _ **Deputy Headmistress**_

Carina was the first to finish reading the letter. Millions of thoughts were swirling around in her mind as she reread the letter again and again, specifically where it said "Witchcraft and Wizardry". She really couldn't be…. A witch?

'Wow,' said Mary,' I can't believe it…'

'What…what am I?' she asked fearfully.

'Carina… I really cannot believe it!'

Getting up, Carina moved away from Mary.

'Stay back… I don't know what a witch can do but it's probably bad!' said Carina, trembling.

Mary got up and hugged her. 'It's ok,' she cooed, 'cause guess what?'

'What'

'I got the letter too.'

Carina's jaw dropped. 'No way.'

'Yes way!' squealed Mary, 'I'm so happy I get to go with my best friend!'

'Oh look, there's another paper!' said Carina.

They both dove on the bed once more and read the second paper:

 _ **UNIFORM**_

 _ **First-year students will require:**_

 _ **sets of plain work robes (black)**_

 _ **plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**_

 _ **pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**_

 _ **winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)**_

 _ **Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags.**_

 _ ****_ _ **COURSE BOOKS**_

 _ **All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

 _ **The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**_

 _ **A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**_

 _ **Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**_

 _ **A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch**_

 _ **One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**_

 _ **Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**_

 _ **Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**_

 _ **The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_

 _ ****_ _ **OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

 _ **1 wand**_

 _ **1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**_

 _ **1 set glass or crystal phials**_

 _ **1 telescope**_

 _ **1 set brass scales**_

 _ **Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.**_

 _ **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS!**_

'Wait.' Said Carina. 'Where are we supposed to get all of this stuff?!'

'Oh um haven't thought of that yet' admitted Mary.

'We should go show Ms. Campbell our letters. Maybe she knows where this "Hogwarts" is'

'That sounds good,' said Mary 'I'll just go get mine real quick ok?'

'OK' said Carina.

~CFB~

Carina and Mary walked in silence through the rambunctious hallway to Ms. Campbell's office. When they arrived, they knocked on her door. 'Enter!' she called from within. Wordlessly, they sat in the two chairs in front of her polished mahogany desk.

'Ms. Campbell, Mary and I both received letters from this school, called "Hogwarts". It says we are witches, and we need certain things for us to attend.' Said Carina softly, handing her the letters.

Ms. Campbell took the letters from them and read them thoroughly. 'I never would've guessed you girls were witches' she said casually, as if this were a common occurrence.

Both girls gasped and said together, 'MS. CAMPBELL ARE YOU A WITCH?!'

She laughed and said, 'No, I am a squib. It means I don't have any magical powers, but I do know of the wizarding world.'

'Oh' said both of them, embarrassed by their outburst.

'Do you know where we are going to get this stuff from?' asked Mary, who'd recovered the fastest.

'But of course! The one and only Diagon Alley.'

'How are we going to get there? Is it in Texas?' asked Carina.

Once again Ms. Campbell laughed and said 'It's in Britain. We will go tomorrow, by Floo.'

'Wow…but that's so far away!' said Mary.

As if sensing their discomfort, Ms. Campbell said, 'Don't worry, you can come back for the holidays!'

Both girls let out a sigh of relief of not having to leave their home permanently, even if it was an orphanage.

'Now, get to bed. We have a big day tomorrow, don't we." She said with a rare smile.

~CFB~

Carina settled into her sky-blue sheets, deep in thought about the next day. She knocked a familiar pattern into the wall next to her bed. "Tap Tap-Tap Tap!" She waited a few seconds and a response was heard. Mary's room was right next to hers so she knew that Mary too was deep in thought about the wizarding world. As she rolled over in her bed, she felt that nothing would make her sleep. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell sound asleep.

 **R/R**


	3. Chapter 3

CFB: Chapter 3

The morning of August 1st was a warm and humid one as two young girls woke at the crack of dawn. Another screech woke Carina up for the second day in a row.

'Mary!'

'Carina!'

'WE'RE GOING' both girls hollered.

The girls had to be up early because of the different time zone and neither could be deterred from the excitement of going to Diagon Alley. Carina put on a sky blue sweater and dark jeans. She then slipped on her favorite black converse and leather rucksack and ran out the door. Sadly, her room neighbor and best friend ran out at the same time and both girls crashed into each other.

'Oww…' said Mary.

'Ughh…' groaned Carina.

'What are you doing on the floor?!' yelled Ms. Campbell 'Get up and go to my office!'

Carina shot up and ran to her office, Mary trailing right behind. Ms. Campbell went in after a bit and started lighting her ancient fireplace. Carina glanced at Mary and saw that she too was confused at this. Mary turned and raised an eyebrow at her. Carina shrugged and looked at Ms. Campbell as she finished lighting the fireplace.

'Now,' said Ms. Campbell 'what you have to do is grab some of this green powder-,' she said, reaching into a small ceramic jar. '—And toss it into the fire place.' She threw it in the fire and it turned a brilliant shade of cerulean green. 'Mary, come here.' Said Ms. Campbell. Mary started moving slowly towards her and stopped right in front of the fire.

'Ms. Campbell, what are you—' began Mary

'Don't worry go in the flames; nothing will happen'

'Ok?' said Mary, hesitantly shuffling into the fire.

'Say: "Diagon Alley" loud and clear' said Ms. Campbell.

'Diagon Alley' said Mary. A bright flash of green fire and Mary was gone.

'Now you, come on now, hurry up' said Ms. Campbell.

Emboldened by Mary's success, Carina jumped into the fireplace. It was an odd feeling and when she opened her mouth—not a good idea—she inhaled a mouth full of soot. 'Diagon Alley' she coughed. A lot of images flashed in front of the old fireplace until it stopped abruptly and Carina fell out. Mary was looking at her with a smug smirk.

'Wow. I didn't even fall' she sang.

'Shut up' groaned Carina, as she got to her feet.

She brushed herself off, as Ms. Campbell appeared right behind her. 'Now girls, I don't have any money so we have to stop by Gringotts, ok?' she said.

'Um, ok?' said both girls, wondering what the hell Gringotts was.

Both girls followed Ms. Campbell warily as they gazed on their surroundings. It was the afternoon here and the sun shone bright above the colorful buildings. It was also packed with people, they saw. A harassed looking woman walked out of what looked like an apothecary saying, 'Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…' A sign nearby a bunch of cauldrons said "Cauldrons -All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self-Stirring – Collapsible"

Mary was looking everywhere as well, as they walked up to a blinding white marble building. A goblin—a real goblin! —In a red and gold uniform was in front of the bronze doors. It had a pointy chin covered in a white wispy beard. Its fingers and feet were very pointy and so were its ears. It was smaller than Carina too, a rarity. The second doors were silver and were also engraved with words. It read:

" _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there."_

'That's scary' said Mary.

Carina nodded, agreeing with her. Ms. Campbell walked up to the long counter, where a lot more goblins sat on high stools, each doing a different thing. One was even weighing a pile of rubies the size of coals!

Ms. Campbell reached a goblin near them and said 'We've come to retrieve some money from the Campbell vault.' The goblin then asked if she had her key, and Ms. Campbell nodded, pulling out a tiny gold key.

'I will have someone take you to your vault, mam' said the goblin. 'NURKUS' yelled the goblin, making Carina jump.

Another goblin walked up to the counter where they were. The goblin named Nurkus led them into one of the many doors in the bank and they came across a narrow stone passageway. There were train tracks along the floor and many flaming torches lined the walls. A cart rolled up the tracks and Nurkus motioned for them to get in.

After getting in the cart, Carina asked 'What is going to—' She got cut off by the cart suddenly lurching forward, quick and shaky. 'We went through a maze' thought Carina as the cart went left, right, and down again. Nurkus was not steering so she knew the cart was magic—no normal cart could do this—and finally they reached a small door. Mary was the first off the cart and she threw up along the edge.

'That wa- that was awful' she said shakily.

'You're a big baby. It felt like a roller coaster.' Said Carina, rolling her eyes.

Nurkus laughed at her words—a deep croaky noise—and unlocked the vault. Inside was a shimmering of coins. There was a wall of gold, another of silver, yet another of bronze. Mounds of gold, silver, and bronze littered the stone floor, along with a couple of jewels in the gold piles.

'Wow Ms. Campbell…I didn't know you were rich!' said Mary.

'Well this is my family vault' said Ms. Campbell.

She went in and Nurkus gave her a leather pouch. She filled it with handfuls of every coin, mainly the gold ones. Carina and Mary stood outside, not wanting to move everything if they went in. After Ms. Campbell filled the bag, they went back in the cart, Mary holding on tightly.

~CFB~

Ms. Campbell took them to "Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions".

'That cart ride didn't sit well with me;' she said, 'I'm going off to the Leaky Cauldron, a bar, to get a drink. Here's some money to get your robes and I'll meet you right after alright?'

They took the money and nodded, Carina putting the money in her rucksack.

They then walked in to the store and saw Madam Malkin, a short, plump woman. She smiled at them and asked 'Hogwarts, dears?'

Carina and Mary said 'yes', and the woman waved her hand for them to follow her. They sat near where a small pale boy was being fitted. He had platinum blond hair and a pointed face. His voice was drawling as he talked with another boy. The other boy was on a stool also about to be fitted. He had messy jet-black hair and bright green eyes. He also looked like whatever the blond boy was talking about, he had no idea. Quite quickly, Madam Malkin finished pinning the blond boy's robes and he hopped off the small wooden stool. They were only able to catch the last thing he said 'Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts'.

Madam Malkin returned and had Carina stand on a stool right next to the boy with black hair.

Trying to make conversation, Carina asked 'So…are you going to Hogwarts too?'

The boy jumped and said 'Oh yes'. He looked at her quickly, scanning her face.

He then asked 'Where are you from? You have a strange accent'.

Carina raised an eyebrow and he backtracked, smacking himself on the forehead, 'Sorry, I'm Harry, Harry Potter.'

Carina smiled and said 'I'm Carina, Carina Black.' He smiled back and Madam Malkin then said 'You're all done, dear.' He waved goodbye and followed Madam Malkin to pay for his robes.

Mary took his place next to her, as soon as he left.

'So…what were you talking about, huh?' she said nudging her.

'He called my accent strange and then introduced himself' said Carina with a laugh.

Madam Malkin had returned and finished pinning Carina's robes. She began on Mary's when another girl walked in. She had brown bushy hair and warm brown eyes. Madam Malkin went to help her and they both walked back to the end of the room, where Carina and Mary were.

'Hello, my name's Hermione Granger. What's your name?' She asked, rather quickly.

'My name's Carina, and this idiot here,' pointing at Mary,' is Mary.' Said Carina smiling, dodging a smack from Mary.

'Where are you from?' she asked curiously.

'Texas' said Carina.

The girl's eyes widened, almost comically, when Madam Malkin announced she was finished. Carina said a quick goodbye and walked up to pay for the robes. Luckily, Ms. Campbell had returned from the Leaky Cauldron and helped Carina pay for the robes, as she had no idea what Galleons, Sickles, or Knuts were. Walking out with their bags, Carina asked what each coin meant.

Ms. Campbell explained 'The little bronze ones are Knuts, 29 bronze Knuts to a silver Sickle and 17 sickles to one gold Galleon.'

'That didn't seem hard to remember' thought Carina.

They then went to a store called Flourish and Blotts. Carina might've thought she'd died and gone to heaven; there were books stacked to the ceiling, if Mary hadn't nudged her to move. Some were as large as paving stones bound in leather; others as small as a stamp covered in silk. Mary bought a book for Carina named "Curses and Countercurses: Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More" by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

Afterwards, they went to get their potion making supplies. They got two sets of scales, collapsible telescopes, and pewter cauldrons. The Apothecary was very fascinating; if it hadn't been for the horrible smell of rotten eggs, Carina and Mary were very sure they could live in there, examining the various herbs/parts. There were barrels of slimy things, jars of herbs, roots, and powders, bundles of hairs and feathers, and strings of fangs and claws. They each got a set of basic potion supplies. All that remained was their wands. Carina had been looking forward to getting her wand. She knew she would finally be a real witch when she got it.

Ms. Campbell led us to an old looking store. Faded, peeling gold letters read "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." A lone wand lay on a dusty violet pillow in the dreary window. She then said 'I'll wait out here; I heard it's an interesting experience.'

Entering slowly, Carina and Mary looked around for the shop owner. Suddenly, behind a gloomy counter an old man appeared.

'Ah Ms. Black… I thought I would be seeing you soon' said Mr. Ollivander.

His wide, silvery, pale eyes scanned Carina as she stood in front of him.

'You have your fathers eyes, but you look just like your mother…' he said, trailing off.

Curious, Carina watching him mutter to himself when he asked 'Wand Arm?'

'Wand Arm? I'm left-handed, if that's what you mean' Said Carina

'Yes that's it' said Ollivander, pulling out a measuring tape.

It seemed to have a mind of its own as it measured from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Black. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another witch's wand.

Carina watched him look around his shop as he grabbed several boxes.

'That's enough' he called, and the tape measure fell to the floor. 'Now, try this one Maple and Dragon Heartstring, 12 inches, stiff' Carina didn't get a chance to ask what to do when he suddenly snatched it out of her hand. 'No, no try this one Ebony and Phoenix feather, 9 inches, springy' Again, he snatched it as soon as she held the wand. Carina started to feel a bit foolish when he went back to the piles of boxes. He came back holding only one box.

'Here we go, Rowan and Phoenix feather, 9 ¾ inches, unyielding' he said handing it to her.

Carina grabbed it and felt an odd sensation. It was like warm water flooding through her entire body streaming from the wand. She gave it a small wave and gold sparks flew from the end of it, like a firework. Mr. Ollivander smiled at her and took it back. Suddenly, she felt something horrible happening in her head. Feeling a bit light-headed, she collapsed on the dark dusty floor.


	4. Chapter 4

CFB: Chapter 4

Carina woke up with a pounding in her head. Looking around the room, she could see that she was in a hospital room of some sort. Her rucksack wasn't in the room. Campbell and Mary were nowhere to be seen either. A woman in green robes entered the room and said 'Oh you're up, please drink this.' She held up a bright neon pink vial up to her hand. Carina grabbed the glass and hesitantly put her lips around it. It tasted horrible. It was like someone had liquefied death and cherries.

'Ugh' said Carina after drinking the disgusting potion.

The woman smiled at her and said 'Don't worry, that's the only one'

'What had happened in Mr. Ollivander's shop?' thought Carina. All she could remember was waving her wand and seeing bright golden lights flutter around her. Then the world turned black. As if she could hear her thoughts the woman, who had been messing with some medical instruments nearby, said:

'You had your magical powers locked up. It wasn't pretty. After you found your true wand, the lock broke and your body couldn't take it. Any moment sooner and there would have been trouble. Did you know that you were a metamorphmagus?'

'A what?!' sputtered Carina.

'A meta-morph-magus' she said, slowly turning around.

'What is that?'

'It means you can change your appearance at will'

'Really?' said Carina in disbelief.

'Yep, but right now it's all willy-nilly. Like right now your hair is a funny shade of violet, but it was green and short earlier. Although you may not have control of your abilities in times of emotional distress.' She said matter-of-factly. 'It should stop in a couple of days though. You also may not be able to control changing for a bit too'

She held up a lock of her hair to see that it was, in fact a bright florescent purple, and a lot shorter than usual. The woman/doctor walked out of the room but not before she called for Ms. Campbell. A worried looking Ms. Campbell ran into the room and moved the screen beside Carina's bed. Mary was there too, sound asleep.

'WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY?!' Carina shrieked, losing her head completely.

'SHH! She's fine. She also had her powers locked. That's why I didn't suspect you having magic.' Said Ms. Campbell.

'Did I get my wand?' asked Carina.

'Yes, I took it back to the house though.' Said Ms. Campbell.

'How did we get our powers locked?'

Ms. Campbell looked uncomfortable at this and said carefully, 'Whoever brought you to the orphanage, must have been worried about your powers exposing who you really were.'

~CFB~

The hospital's name was "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries". Carina found this out soon after the woman in lime green robes said she and Mary could leave. Mary woke up not long after and was also forced to drink the pink potion. Her expression was very amusing though, so it made up for having to wait for her. Ms. Campbell had them floo back to Diagon Alley, where she said she had something to do.

'Where are we going' said Mary after they passed several shops.

'To get you both a magical birthday present' said Ms. Campbell smiling.

'Aw thanks Ms. Campbell, but you don't have to do this' said Carina, blushing slightly.

'Nonsense, I haven't gotten you girls presents in years.' Said Ms. Campbell, closing the argument.

They walked towards two shops: "Eeylop's Owl Emporium" and "Magical Menagerie"

'You may both get a pet from these shops' said Ms. Campbell.

Mary grabbed Carina's hand and ran into the owl emporium. Many different kinds of owls lounged all over the place. There were tawny owls, barn owls, brown owls, screech owls, and many more she couldn't name. Mary ran up to one of them, a white one with brown stripes along the wings and eyes.

'Aww…' cooed Mary 'It likes me' as it closed its eyes while she pet it.

The shop attendant walked towards them and said 'Wow that's a first, it usually snaps at people'

Mary asked to buy him and they both walked out, the barred owl in a white cage. Carina didn't want an owl so they both walked into "Magical Menagerie". There were lots of animals here too. A blinding tortoise with jewels encrusted in the shell glittered in the setting sun. Cats of every color, rats, toads, and orange snails were the main displays. While Mary investigated the tortoise, she made her way towards the back of the shop where there were several dogs. There was a huge husky, a slobbery bulldog, and a small black lump hiding behind the white bulldog. Reaching out for it, she saw that it was a small pug puppy. It had wide brown eyes, a mushroom nose, and wrinkles everywhere.

Carina thought it was positively adorable. It started licking her face as she laughed at its curly little tail. She took it to the counter and paid several galleons for her small chubby companion and some supplies to keep it maintained.

'Egh, what is that ugly thing!' said Mary.

'Its not ugly; its so cute!' said Carina, defending her new pet.

The little dog walked alongside her, barking playfully at Mary.

'Whatever you say Carina' said Mary in an exasperated voice.

'What should I name you' she cooed at her small dog.

'Ugly beast' said Mary laughing.

Carina smacked her on the arm and said 'I know what to call you: Bombur! Like from the Hobbit! Cause your chubby like him too!' she said with a laugh.

The little black pug barked at Carina, seemingly happy at its new name.

~CFB~

Her new fuzzy little companion was very well trained, Carina soon found out. She hadn't needed to tell him where to sleep, not to bite, nor chew her things. House accidents were non-existent. Bombur seemed to have become accustomed to life at the orphanage with the other residents nearby. All the girls came to see her new pet, cooing at him and petting him nonstop. Even Lindsey and Eve begrudgingly admitted he was very cute.

A month later, Mary warmed up to him as well. But it went slightly wrong when she mentioned that they could only bring owls, cats, and toads to Hogwarts.

'Damn it! I forgot about that!' cursed Carina.

'Maybe you could write a letter to Dumbledore with Maya' suggested Mary.

'That sounds good' thought Carina. It would get rid of anyone questioning her dog. Nodding at Mary, they went into her room to write the letter. After reading it thoroughly, Carina was sure there would be no misunderstandings with Bombur going to Hogwarts. She mentioned he was small, very well trained, and possibly magical, as she had bought him at Diagon Alley. Mary agreed, saying they would be crazy not to let him go with her. They tied it to Maya, Mary's owl, and sent her out through the small window in Mary's room.

'Man, I hope he gets to go' said Carina somberly.

'Me too' said Mary, collapsing on her bed.

'Hey, we should prank Lindsey and Eve before we go.' Said Carina casually.

'Yeah, didn't we buy those water balloons on your birthday' said Mary, sitting up.

Carina's only response was a slow devious grin spreading across her face.

~CFB~

One hour later, both girls waited for the usual recess time Ms. Campbell allowed. The ink-filled water balloons were resting in a bucket they'd found in Carina's neat room. They hid in the huge oak tree that Lindsey's crew always sat under. It was an uncomfortably hot day, like always in Texas, and they would use the largest shady spot available. Carina and Mary stifled their giggles as the small gang of girls came into view. Lindsey and Eve were one year older than Mary and Carina. They were also very annoying and loud, too. Another girl, Tina, was with them too. Carina could hear their current conversation as they came up to the trunk of the massive tree.

'Oh my gosh Eve, you are so right!' said Lindsey, in that stuck up voice.

'I know!' squealed Eve, like a mouse.

'Max totally likes Eve' said Tina, nodding furiously.

Mary grimaced at Carina, and pointed to the bucket. She nodded and lifted the bucket with Mary. They both flipped it upside-down and saw the black bulges of the balloons fall out. It was like in slow motion, they dropped the bucket as well and climbed out of the tree. Their expressions were priceless. Lindsey's bleach-blonde hair was soaking black ink and her once-nice looking blouse was dripping with ink. Her face was twisted so much, Carina wondered how she could see. Mary was looking at Eve in the same way, with a savage smile of satisfaction of seeing her rival drenched in thick black ink. And then, topping off the cake, the bucket fell on all the girls, making them fall on their ink-covered bottoms. A loud scream echoed from underneath the bucket.

Carina and Mary smirked deviously at each other and both girls ran away, straight into Carina's room where they laughed about their faces.

'HAHAHAHA! DID YOU SEE LINDSEY'S FACE!' roared Carina.

'I KNOW!' laughed Mary.

Loud footsteps were suddenly audible from the small room.

'Act normal!' hissed Carina, diving on her bed.

She opened her book and began reading. Mary started talking about how Hogwarts would be while petting Bombur. Ms. Campbell stormed into the room and both Carina and Mary shot up with rapt attention.

'Were you responsible for what happened in the yard today?' asked Ms. Campbell with barely restrained rage.

'What happened in the yard?' asked both girls, feigning innocence.

Ms. Campbell glared at them and walked out of the room.

'Damn, that was close' sighed Carina.

'You said it' said Mary.

'But their faces WERE hilarious' said Carina, snickering.

Mary started laughing again, Carina joining her.

~CFB~

The early morning of September 1st was a crazy one as they scrambled to get their Hogwarts things together. Bombur had been put in a small travel cage and Maya had too, when she finally returned with Dumbledore's letter. He would be allowed if he did not cause too much trouble. Carina wasn't sure when so much of her things ended up in Mary's room as they ran around getting their clothes packed, and supplies put away in their large trunks.

Around 4' o clock in the morning, they lugged their things into Ms. Campbell's office. She was already there, fussing like a mother hen.

'Come on now, hurry up.' She called when they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. It was 10:30 in the morning when they were running to the train station. It was called King's Cross and luckily, the Leaky Cauldron wasn't too far from it. Their tickets, found attached to the back of their letters, said they had to get on Platform 9 & ¾.

'How can there be a ¾ of a platform!' said Carina pacing in front of Platform 9. Mary stayed silent as she watched the pillars in between 9 and 10. Ms. Campbell wasn't much help either, as she was a squib.

'Hey,' began Mary 'why's there an extra pillar there in between if the other platforms don't have one.'

'Yeah...that's true' said Carina slowly.

She went to investigate the side closest to the Platform 10 and pressed her hand on it. Her hand went through it!

'Mary here it is!' she said.

'Well stop sitting around, let's go!'

Ms. Campbell was looking at them with a sad face.

'I must leave you here' said Ms. Campbell

'What' said both girls, whirling to face her.

'I can't get through the barrier.' She said simply.

Carina and Mary ran up to her and swallowed her in a giant hug.

'Don't worry, Ms. Campbell. We will be fine.' Said Mary with a watery smile.

'I know you will.' Said Ms. Campbell, smiling tearfully at both of them.

She waved them off and they pushed their trolley with their trunks and pets on it through the barrier. They came across a scarlet train, with steam coming out of a golden-rimmed tube in the front.

'Oh wow' sighed both girls.

'Look there's where we put the trunks.' Said Carina.

The station was packed with lots of people, all waving to their children as they boarded the scarlet train. They went to put their trucks in the cart where they went. Carina hadn't recalled when they weighed so much as Mary and her pushed them up slowly. There was also a space for Mary's owl, in another cart, as they put her white-wired cage in the owl cart.

'Come on!' said Mary dragging Carina away quickly.

They made their way into the crowded train and tried to find an empty compartment. Sadly they were all full and the train had started moving. Carina found one with a boy with black hair and a ginger one talking. Carina went to knock on their door and asked, 'Do you mind if we sit here?' gesturing to the empty side of the compartment.

'No, not at all' said the black haired one.

He looked familiar to Carina, but she couldn't place it.

The red-haired one said, 'My name is Ron'

Both Carina and Mary sat on the other seat and Carina let Bombur out of his cage. He sat with Carina, lying in her lap to take a nap.

'What is that?' said Ron uneasily.

'A dog; Haven't you heard of one before?' said Carina sarcastically.

'Oh' he said turning as red as his hair. 'Anyways, what's your name' he said, recovering from embarrassment.

'Carina and this crazy girl is Mary' she said pointing at her friend, who was beginning to doze off.

'Carina! That's who you are, I met you in the robe shop remember?' said the black-haired boy.

'Harry?' said Carina uncertainly.

'Yes!' Harry smiling.

'Didn't he call you strange' said Mary, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

Harry blushed while Ron started laughing.

'Smooth, mate.' Said Ron, still laughing.

'Well your accent still is strange, the both of you.' He said cheeks still red.

'We're from Texas, it's in America.' Said Carina.

'No way!' said Ron incredulously. 'A Yank!'

'Two of them' said Harry.

'What the hell's a Yank?!' said Mary indignantly.

'It means you're from America' said Harry, defusing the situation.

'Oh' said Mary, calming down.

'Anyways, you really are Harry Potter?' said Ron.

'Err, yes?' said Harry.

'Oh wow, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's pranks' said Ron.

'You're famous?' asked Carina curiously looking at Harry.

'Yes' he grumbled.

'For defeating You-Know-Who' said Ron

'You-'

'-Know-'

'-Who?' said Mary and Carina, together.

'You don't know who You-Know-Who is?!' said Ron.

'No?' said both girls uncertainly.

'His real name's Voldemort' said Harry.

'Don't say his name!' hissed Ron.

'Voldemort?' said Carina.

'Shhh!' said Ron.

'It's not like he's going to appear out of nowhere' said Mary.

'A lot of the wizarding world here are afraid to say his name because of what he did' said Ron.

'What did he do?' said Carina curiously.

'He was a Dark Wizard, the darkest of the dark. He would murder wizards and witches who didn't agree with his views. Even muggles, just for fun.' Said Ron trembling.

'Fun?!' said Carina, frowning. 'What are muggles, anyways'

'Muggles are regular people, who don't have any magical powers.' Said Harry.

'Harry here, is famous for being his downfall' said Ron. 'He tried to kill him, but for some reason, he couldn't. His spell broke and that was the end of him, but Harry lived.'

'Wow' said Carina and Mary. They sat in silence.

'Are all of your family wizards?' asked Harry, glad for a change in conversation.

'Er - Yes, I think so,' said Ron. 'I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him.'

'So you must know loads of magic already.'

'I heard you went to live with muggles' said Ron. 'What are they like?'

'Horrible –well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers.'

'Five,' said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat.'

'Ugh, a rat?' said Mary, cringing.

Ron pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

'His names Scabbers, and he's pretty useless; he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got a new owl for being made prefect, but they couldn't aff—I mean I got Scabbers instead' Said Ron, ears blushing as he looked out the window.

'Well, I've never had any money in my life; I had to use Dudley's hand-me-downs all my life. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid told me.' said Harry, trying to cheer Ron up.

'Wow' said Ron.

'I bet I'll be worst in the class' said Harry sadly.

'Me too' said the girls at the same time.

'You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough.' Said Ron.

'Hey Ron, do you know if Metamorphmagus's are common?' said Carina, curious about the magical world.

'No, they're really rare' said Ron. 'Why?'

'Cause I'm one' said Carina smirking.

'No way!' said Ron. 'Prove it!'

Carina concentrated on making her hair jet-black, like Harry's, when she heard Ron and Harry gasp.

'Wow!' said both boys.

Mary smirked at them said 'I heard your brothers like pranking people, what are their names?'

'Oh no are you guys pranksters too?!' said Ron groaning.

'Well, we like to think so' said Carina, smirking along with Mary.

'Their names are Fred and George.' Said Ron.

Carina looked out the window, and saw that the train had carried them out of London. There were fields full of cows and sheep. At half-past 12, a smiling woman slid their door and said 'Anything off the trolley, dears?'

'Carina, buy me something!' said Mary as Carina got to her feet.

Harry too, had leapt to his feet to buy something. Ron went pink and mentioned something about having brought sandwiches.

'Ok' said Carina, pulling her coins out of her rucksack.

She followed Harry to the cart and saw that she didn't have regular candy. What she did have was Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Carina had never seen in her life. Curious, Carina bought some of everything along with Harry and gave the woman a galleon, telling her to keep the change. She smiled more at this and left after they'd bought their candy.

'Look, there's some cool stuff in here' said Carina, piling it in-between her and Mary.

'Hungry, are you' said Ron.

'Starving' said Harry, Carina, and Mary all at once.

'That was creepy' said Ron.

He pulled out some sandwiches and said 'She always forgets I don't like corned beef'

Harry, noticing this, said 'Swap you for one of these'

'You don't want this, its all dry' said Ron.

'Its fine' said Harry, holding up a cake.

'Wow these things are awesome!' exclaimed Mary, holding a Pumpkin Pasty.

'You've never had one?' said Ron curiously.

'Nope' said Mary, taking another bite.

'What about you? Do you have any wizarding family?' said Ron.

Mary turned red along with Carina and said 'We don't know, we're both orphans.'

Ron turned red too and said 'Oh, sorry'

'It's fine'

'What are these?' said Harry, holding up a pack of Chocolate frogs. 'They're not really frogs, are they?'

'No,' said Ron. 'Check what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa'

'What'

Leaving the boys to their devices, Carina turned to Mary and said 'Do you want to try the every-flavor jelly beans?'

'Sure' said Mary.

'You want to be careful with those,' Ron warned Carina, as she opened a bag of them. 'When they say every flavor, they mean EVERY flavor. You get all the regular ones, like chocolate, peppermint, and marmalade, but they also have spinach, liver, and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once.

'Ew?' said Carina.

'Hehe, let's see what this one is' said Mary pulling out a gray one.

Ron looked horrified at having to try it, and refused point-blank. Harry also refused, saying 'I just found out about the wizarding world; I don't want to be poisoned.' Carina decided to take a small bite out of the gray bean.

'Man up!' said Carina, taking the small bean.

She took a bite and looked at it in revulsion.

'Ew, pepper.' She said, feeling like sneezing.

They had a great time tasting the beans. Carina got lots of flavors. She decided her favorite one was salted caramel, a golden bean. After a while of tasting every bean, a boy who looked like he was crying opened the compartment door.

'Have any of you seen a toad?' he asked, sniffling.

'No, sorry' said Carina kindly.

'Thanks anyways' he said, closing the door.

'Wow, if I brought a toad, I would try to lose it first chance I got. Mind you I brought Scabbers, so I can't really talk can I?' Ron looked down at his lap to see the ugly gray rat snoozing away. 'He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference' said Ron in disgust.

'I tried changing his color yesterday, to try and make him more interesting but it wouldn't work. I'll show you, look…'

He pulled out a battered looking wand, and when he opened his mouth, the compartment door opened again. The toadless boy was back, but this time, he had a girl with him. She already had her Hogwarts robes on.

'Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one.' She had a bossy voice, bushy brown hair, and large front teeth.

'I remember you' said Carina, straining her memory.

'Hermione?' she asked questioningly.

She smiled and said 'Yes' but then Ron said 'We already told him we haven't seen it.'

Hermione didn't listen and looked at the wand in his hand.

'Oh are you doing magic? Lets see it then.'

'Er—alright,' Ron cleared his throat and said 'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow'

'I don't think that's a real spell' said Hermione. 'I have tried several and they have all worked for me'

'Anyways, I'm Hermione Granger. What's your name?'

'I'm Carina'

'I'm Mary'

'I'm Ron'

'I'm Harry'

'Harry Potter?' questioned Hermione. 'I know all about you; did you know you were in a book?'

'Really'

'Goodness me, if I were you I'd find out everything I could about me' said Hermione. 'Do you know what house you will be in? I hope I'm in Gryffindor; it sounds far better as Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw is fine. Anyways, I'd better go help Neville find his toad.'

'She left almost as quickly as she came' thought Carina.

'What's Gryffindor?' asked Mary.

'Oh I keep forgetting you don't know about the Houses. There's four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. You-know-who was in Slytherin, did you know.' Said Ron quickly.

'Oh.' Said Mary.

Once again, someone opened the compartment door. It was three boys. Carina remembered the one in the middle from the robe shop.

'Is it true?' said the pale boy. 'They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it'

Before he could respond, Carina beat him to it.

'No I am, you see' said Carina as she made her hair short, messy, and black once more and her eyes green. She also added the scar as an extra touch. Ron burst out laughing and Mary did too. Harry snickered and said 'No I am Harry Potter.'

Remembering the movie "Spartacus", she replied 'No I am Harry Potter'

'No, I am.'

'No, I am' said Carina smirking.

Harry gave up, and Carina made her hair crimson red and eyes gray again. The pale boy was glaring at her, while Mary and Ron started sobering up.

'This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle,' said the pale boy carelessly waving his hand,' and my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.'

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

'Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford.' He looked at Carina. 'I bet you're a Weasley too, no better than him.'

Carina got up to her feet, dislodging Bombur once more. He looked at her as a minor threat as he said 'You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than other, Potter. You don't wasn't to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.'

'I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks.' Said Harry coolly.

Malfoy went pink and said 'I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you.'

Carina snapped and her eyes turned black, flames dancing in them, as Harry and Ron stood up too.

'You know, insulting people seems to be your forte,' said Carina, blazing. 'But it seems like you don't know when to stop. I think I can help you there.'

She drew her hand back and smacked him across the face. Hard. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other and backed off, as Malfoy staggered back towards them. He glared at Carina as she slammed the door shut, right in their faces.

She turned and sat back in her seat, Mary smiling proudly at her, as she picked up Bombur and put him in her lap.

'Bloody hell, that was great!' said Ron, laughing.

'Remind me not to get you mad' said Harry smiling at her.

'Damn straight.' Said Carina smirking cockily.

Ron turned to Harry. 'So you've met Malfoy before?'

'Yes, in the robe store where I met Carina.'

'I've heard of his family,' said Ron darkly. 'They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side.'

Mary and Carina snickered, at his poor choice of words, both remembering Star Wars.

Hermione walked in once more and said 'You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!'

'No' said Carina, innocently. 'I'll make sure they get their robes on'

Hermione smiled at her and left the compartment.

'Merlin, you're scarily good at these things' said Ron.

'Thank you, I try' said Carina smiling arrogantly.

Mary laughed at Ron's expression. They kicked the boys out so they could put on their robes in privacy.

'Man, you smacking that Malfoy dude was the best; I wish I had a camera.' Said Mary laughing.

'I know,' laughed Carina. 'His face was the softest face I'd ever slapped!'

After they dressed, they let the boys back in. They too had put on their robes.

A voice echoed through the train: 'we will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.' Carina looked at the boys as they crammed all their candies in their pockets. She rolled her eyes as she put her candies in her rucksack. Ron got pale, and Harry did too as they exited the compartment.

They walked to the door, where people were pushing their way onto a tiny, dark platform. Carina shivered and held Bombur close to her for warmth. A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and she heard a booming voice: 'Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?' She jumped as Hagrid's big hairy face smiled from the sea of heads. They followed him down a steep, narrow path. It was so dark around them, that she thought that there must be big trees there.

'Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec,' boomed Hagrid. 'jus' round this bend here'

There was a loud 'Ooooh!'

Even Carina couldn't hold back her gasp as she grabbed Mary's hand. The narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a huge black lake. Perched on a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry night sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

'No more'n four to a boat!' called Hagrid, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron led the way into their small boat as Carina and Mary followed close behind. 'Everyone in?' yelled Hagrid 'Right then—FORWARD!' The little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which reflected beautifully against the night sky. Everyone looked at the cliff that held the massive castle when Hagrid roared, 'Heads Down!' They all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Carina cradled Bomber to her chest as more people climbed out of the boats.

'Oi, you there! Is this your toad?' said Hagrid, holding out a toad to Neville.

'Trevor!' cried Neville, reaching out for him.

They clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. Walking up another flight of steps, they crowded around huge oak doors. Mary staggered right behind her, clutching her chest at all the stone steps.

'That was awful' said Mary, glaring at the steps menacingly.

'Don't be a baby; I carried Bombur here' said Carina, smirking at her.

Mary was about to reply, when Hagrid said 'Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad? Neville nodded his assent when Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face—reminiscent of Ms. Campbell—thought Carina.

'The firs' years, Professor McGonagall' said Hagrid.

'Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.'

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was huge. Carina thought they could have fit the whole orphanage in it. The ancient stonewalls had torches, like in Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to see, and another staircase—marble this time—led into the upper floors. Professor McGonagall led them into a small empty chamber off the hall. She could hear the drone of hundreds of voices, so the rest of the school must be there.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said Professor McGonagall. 'The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points.'

Mary smirked at Carina, and she smirked right back.

'At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

'The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.'

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. Mary began fixing her own hair, and Carina asked 'Do you think I should change my hair for the ceremony?'

She had wavy, deep red hair, and she was sure it looked very messy.

'Nah, it looks nice' said Mary.

'Hehe I should make it a rainbow of colors. That will make McGonagall frown.' Said Carina smirking mischievously.

'Yes! Do it!' Said Mary laughing.

'Ok,' and Carina focused hard on making her hair bright red, florescent orange, blinding yellow, neon green, forget-me-not blue, deep indigo, and shocking violet. It cascaded past her shoulders as Ron caught a glimpse and laughed. Mary was shaking with laughter and Carina stood confidently.

Harry asked 'How do they sort us into the houses?'

'Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.' said Ron trembling.

Harry looked around nervously and his eyes fell on Carina who was waiting casually with her rainbow hair. He laughed and sent her thumbs up. She winked and nodded towards the ghosts that had just streamed from the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the first years. They looked to be arguing. What looked like a fat monk was saying 'Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—'

'My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost –I say, what are you all doing here?'

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.

'New students!' said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. 'About to be Sorted, I suppose?'

A few people nodded mutely.

'Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!' said the Friar. 'My old house, you know.'

'Move along now,' said a sharp voice. 'The Sorting Ceremony's about to start.'

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

'Now, form a line.' Said Professor McGonagall as Carina ducked out of sight. 'And follow me'

Carina straightened up with Bombur in hand, and they walked behind Mary as they went through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. She gasped and her eyes widened as they took in the scene. It was lit by millions of candles floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

As Professor McGonagall led them to the table, Carina dodged from her line of view once more. They were in front of the whole school and Carina could see hundreds of faces illuminated by the warm candlelight. The ghosts were dotted here and there among the students, shining misty silver. Looking up, she saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with thousands of white stars. Carina heard Hermione say that it was bewitched to look like the sky outside. It was hard to believe that there was even a ceiling, and that the hall didn't just open to the stars.

Professor McGonagall had placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointy wizard's hat. It was patched and ragged looking and extremely dirty. Suddenly, a fold in the hat's many layers opened. It began to sing:

'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!'

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished singing.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

'When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.' She said. 'Abbott, Hannah!'

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, and sat down. A moment's pause—

'HUFFLEPUFF' shouted the hat.

The long table on the second to the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

'Black, Carina!'

She felt confident as the hall exploded into whispers. She looked around and saw Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling. Her hair did not amuse Professor McGonagall as she passed her to sit; her lips were so thin. Redheaded twins on the table to the far left were smiling and nodding at her, clearly amused by her hair. She winked at them. Putting Bombur down, she grabbed the hat and put it on her head. Her eyes widened slightly as the hat began talking in her ear.

'Hmm… lots of potential here…Difficult…Plenty of courage, very clever, sassy, just like your mother, oh my, a prankster.' Carina smirked at this. 'A tad arrogant, but very loyal. Quick to defend her friends. A silver tongue, eh? Kind yet very sarcastic…you remind me of your father…hmm…it would seem you have the qualities of every house…but your courage far outshines the rest, yes, better be GRYFFINDOR!'

The table on the far left exploded into cheers as Carina took off the hat and walked to sit next to the redheaded twins, Bombur trailing her happily.

'Nice hair' snickered one of them.

'Thank you, I try' said Carina smirking at them, as she changed her hair back to crimson red.

'Wow' began one twin

'A' started the other

'Metamorphmagus' said both twins.

'Bones, Susan!' called Professor McGonagall.

'HUFFLEPUFF' and Susan went to sit next to Hannah.

'Boot, Terry!'

'RAVENCLAW'

'Brown, Lavender'

'GRYFFINDOR'

'Bulstrode, Millicent'

'SLYTHERIN'

Carina started tuning them out as she observed the long table for the teachers.

One of them, a sallow looking man, with greasy long black hair, and a hooked nose was glaring at her with such loathing. She would not stand for this as she nudged one of the twins. He turned looked at her curiously. Carina smirked at him as she made her hair long, greasy, and black. Her nose became hooked, and her skin pale. He began shaking with laughter as he nudged the other twin to look at her. Finally, her eyes turned dark black and she glared at the greasy haired teacher once more as he continued glaring, possibly even harder at her. The twins were shaking with barely contained laughter and many others began looking at what was making the infamous twins laugh so hard.

Many people at the Gryffindor table were deeply amused and indeed one laughed so hard, Professor McGonagall turned to look at their table with thin lips and a frown. Carina hid behind the twin beside her and made her hair back to normal, as well as the rest of herself. She peered innocently at Professor McGonagall, and she returned to her list. The twins were looking at her with stunned faces.

'That' sang a twin.

'Was' sang the other.

'Brilliant' they chorused.

'The one next to me is George, and I'm Fred Weasley, at your service' said the twin next to her, shaking her hand.

'I'm Carina' she said, turning as she heard a familiar name.

'Fawley, Mary'

Mary went to sit on the wooden stool, smiling at Carina. She took less than a minute when the hat called 'GRYFFINDOR'. As the table exploded with cheers, she went to sit next to Carina. She smirked at her.

'So, going to introduce me to your new friends' said Mary.

'Oh, this is Fred, and the other one is George.' Said Carina, waving her hand.

'At your service, fair lady' said Fred.

Carina watched, as everyone got quiet when McGonagall called out:

'Potter, Harry'

The hall began whispering with a buzz as she heard things like:

'Potter, did she say'

'The Harry Potter?'

They all waited with bated breath when it finally roared 'GRYFFINDOR' The roar from the Gryffindor table was so loud, it would seem like a stadium, when the team scored. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand, while Fred and George yelled 'We got Potter! We got Potter!' He went to sit across from Carina. They talked for a bit before they heard: 'Weasley, Ron'

A trembling Ron walked up to the stool; he was so pale, his freckles could be seen clearly from their table. Green with nervousness, he put on the hat. Not even a second had passed when the hat shouted 'GRYFFINDOR' Carina clapped loudly with Harry as Ron went to sit opposite Mary. Finally, 'Zabini, Blaise' was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

'Welcome,' he said 'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'

'Thank you!'

Carina sat there, dumbfounded at what just happened.

'Is he—deranged?' asked Carina.

'Only a bit' winked Fred.

'Anyways, pork chops Carina?' asked George.

She turned to the table to see the once-empty plates piled with food. She had never seen so many things on one table. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steaks, potatoes in every kind of way, pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and her favorite, cheeseburgers. Carina put a steak on the bench as she moved a bit to make a space for Bombur to eat. He dug in to the huge steak and lay down on the wooden surface, content with his steak. She got a cheeseburger and a couple of fries. She investigated the inside of it to her disappointment; there was no bacon in it. Asking Fred to pass the bacon, she put several strips inside her burger.

Content with the end result, she took a bit. It was glorious. She was sure this was the best burger she'd ever had. She moaned and took another bite. Ron and Harry were looking at her curiously; even Fred turned to see what was making her so happy. Carina blushed and said after a big swallow 'It's delicious' as if that settled the fact.

'These are the best fries I've ever eaten' said Mary, next to her.

'Fries? Those are chips' said Ron.

'Um those are fries' said Carina.

'Chips' said Harry.

'Fries!'

'Chips!'

'Fries!'

'Chips!'

'Fries!' said both girls.

'You're both nutters' said Ron simply.

'Well maybe Mary, but I am most certainly not a nutter.' Said Carina.

She got an elbow to the stomach as she laughed along with Harry and Ron. The ghost with ruffles and tights was looking at them sadly.

'Can't you—' began Harry, pointing to his food.

'I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years,' said the ghost. 'I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower.'

'I know who you are!' said Ron suddenly. 'My brothers told me about you—you're Nearly Headless Nick!'

'I would prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy—' Nick began stiffly, but Mary interrupted.

'Nearly Headless?! How can you be nearly headless?!' she shrieked.

Nick was looking rather annoyed; as if their little chat hadn't gone the way he wanted.

'Like this' he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead them, but failed to do so. He seemed happy with their reactions and he flipped his head back on his neck, coughed and said 'So—new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have gotten the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable—he's the Slytherin ghost.'

'Sure we will' said Carina, arrogantly.

He smiled at her and glided away. After Carina had finished her burger, the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean like before. A moment later, and the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, cakes, chocolate—everything, doughnuts, strawberries, Jell-O, pudding, and more!

Carina helped herself to a couple of strawberries and started dipping them in chocolate. Mary had taken a slice of chocolate cake and began expressing her happiness in various noises. The first year conversation took a turn towards their families. A boy named Seamus Finnegan said he was a half-blood, Neville said his family thought he was all muggle for ages. Carina and Mary had been arguing with Ron about fries again, when Harry let out a small gasp. Concerned, she followed his gaze towards the hook-nosed teacher.

'Don't let him get to you; he glared at me so hard, I thought holes were beginning to form' she laughed.

He laughed too and asked 'Do you know his name?'

'No, but maybe Fred knows'

She turned to tap Fred on his shoulder. He turned and she asked who the teacher next to the guy with the turban was.

'Oh that's Snape, the Slytherin Head of House and Potions teacher. He hates all of us; mainly the Gryffindors though. He's a right git too' he said smirking.

'Thanks'

'No problem' and he turned around to talk with George.

'Want me to mimic him? It'll be funny!' she sang.

'Sure'

Carina made her hair black and greasy once more and her nose long and hooked. Her porcelain skin turned sallow and she glared at Harry menacingly. He roared with laughter and Mary turned to see Carina.

'Hey, Mary look at the teachers table' she sang.

Mary turned to look and she laughed hard when Carina glared at her.

'Man, he looks pissed' laughed Mary as Carina glared up at the hook-nosed teacher.

She made her hair back to normal and her eyes turned bright green, like Harry's. Had she not turned back a minute sooner, she would have seen the surprise on his face. Carina asked Harry to look in her eyes and he did.

'Woah, that's odd' he said.

'It's funny seeing your reaction though' said Carina, making her eyes gray again.

After they had eaten all they could, Dumbledore got to his feet again.

'Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.'

'First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.'

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

'I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.'

'Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.'

'And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor  
on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.'

Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. Carina's eyes widened as she realized he was serious.

'And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!' he cried.

He waved his wand, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

The school bellowed:

'Hogwarts, Hogwarts,

Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot.'

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

'Ah, music,' he said, wiping his eyes. 'A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot'

They followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the great hall and up a marble staircase. Carina picked up Bombur; she didn't want him to be crushed. Mary groaned at all the stairs.

'If we're witches, why can't we just fly!' she said, waving her hands up.

Carina was too preoccupied with trying not to fall with Bombur; she was so tired. She snapped her eyes open more than once, the longest being when Percy warned them about Peeves, the poltergeist. They all stopped at a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

'Password?' she asked.

'Caput Draconis' said Percy, and the portrait swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. He directed the girls to their dormitory and the boys through another. Mary groaned, along with Carina this time, as they went up another tower. They reached a room that the female prefect directed them through. There were five four-poster beds, hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks were already brought up. She was very tired, but that didn't stop her from calling the bed next to the wall by the door. Mary claimed the bed next to hers, where a window was the only thing separating them.

'Mary, is this real, am I not just dreaming?' she asked, wary of everything that had just happened.

'Pretty sure it's real' reassured Mary, herself sounding a bit unsure.

Carina dressed into her nightgown. She put Bombur on her bed and snuggled under the scarlet comforter. He crawled to her arms as she began dozing off. Her final thought had been: 'I hope this is real' and she feel asleep at once.

 **R/R Longest chapter so far, but its mainly the book. Carina doesn't know who her parents are but she knows so far that they were both magical. I omitted some things that I thought were unnecessary. See ya next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

CFB: Chapter 5

Carina woke up as the sun was beginning to rise in the east. Next to her, Mary was snoring away tucked in her red blanket. Bombur, however, was nowhere to be seen, she found. Carina thought maybe, he went to take care of his "business". She got up and pulled on her Hogwarts robes. On the trunk in front of her bed, she found several red and gold striped ties. She dressed and then looked around the room. Only Hermione wasn't in the room. Feeling like Mary needed a shock, she went to their shared bathroom and filled a pail full of water.

'Mary, wake up' sang Carina, standing over Mary.

'Uhhhnngg' groaned Mary, turning around.

She smirked at this, and threw the bucket over Mary.

She shot up like a bullet, screeching loudly.

'WHAT THE HELL, CARINA!'

Carina laughed as a soaking Mary flailed off the bed and started chasing her. Carina ran down the stairs as Mary stumbled down after her. Seeing George talking by Fred, she ran right through his tall legs. George looked down curiously, when Mary smacked right into his back. She flew back onto the floor, rubbing her head.

'Ughhhh' she moaned painfully.

'What are you doing on the floor' asked George, turning to Mary.

She seemed to become aware of the situation. Looking down at her pajamas, Mary blushed furiously, glared at Carina, and ran back up the stairs.

'So, it seems this ickle firstie is good at humiliation, and pranks' said Fred, eyeing her approvingly.

'George'

'Fred'

'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'

'Yes I am' said Fred.

'We would like you, Carina, to become our pranking accomplice. Your little friend Mary would be great too, if you agree.' Sang both twins

'Course I will' said Carina, shaking George's hand.

~CFB~

Carina and Mary moaned as they both dragged their heavy legs up yet another set of stairs. Harry and Ron were with them as they walked up one of the hundred and forty-two staircases. There were wide, sweeping ones. Narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept visiting each other, and the ghosts weren't much help either.

Carina and Mary got on the bad side of the caretaker, Argus Filch, on the first day of school.

They'd been working on one of their pranks with the twins for Professor Snape early in the morning, when he came around the corner. Filch had been forced into a pink ballerina outfit, complete with pink ballet flats. Fred and George ran for it, dragging the girls with them, as they ran for their lives.

Sadly, Mary had lost her grip on Fred when Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris tripped Carina and Mary. Fred and George had stopped and looked at them, but Carina shook her head. They nodded with assent and ran towards the Common Room.

The chewing-out frightening at first as Filch threatened to hang them by their thumbs in the dungeons and disembowelment. Carina began tuning him out when she saw an interesting looking drawer on the side of his messy office.

It read "Highly Dangerous"

Curious, she nudged Mary in her seat next to her. Carina looked pointedly at the drawers. Mary smirked at her and began ticking her fingers up to three.

A loud crash echoed through the massive halls of Hogwarts, as Filch stopped in his rant and ran out of the room. Carina jumped out of her seat and began reaching inside of it. She groped around, grabbing a thick, rough piece of parchment. Mary kept a lookout as she turned quickly, and pulled Carina out of the room.

~CFB~

Carina didn't get a chance to get a look at the paper she'd swiped from Filch's office. It turns out that magic wasn't just waving their wands and saying funny words.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

Carina thought that easily the most boring class was History of Magic. You'd think that a class taught by a ghost would be interesting, but no, he droned on and on while the class scribbled notes; Carina began changing her physical appearance, much to Mary's amusement.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. When he'd reached Harry's name, he squeaked and fell off the books. Carina smiled at him as he fussed over Harry's name.

Professor McGonagall was a lot different than Professor Flitwick. Strict and clever, she gave them quite a talking down the moment they sat down in her first class.

'Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts,' she said. 'Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.'

Carina stifled a yawn next to Mary. They watched as she changed her desk into a pig and back again. Everyone looked eager to get started but they all soon realized that they wouldn't be changing furniture into animals for a long time.

Carina smirked at Professor McGonagall as she explained their first task. She sat and waited as she'd given them a match and requested them to turn it into a needle. Carina lifted her left arm and waved her wand; similar to the way Professor McGonagall had when she'd turned her desk into a pig. She focused hard on imagining a needle in place of the match. Mary, next to her gasped, and watched in curiosity as the match vanished; in its place a silver, thin, pointy needle. Carina smirked cockily as Professor McGonagall passed by, about to reprimand her to do her work, when her eyes widened with surprise at the match-turned-needle.

'My, my, it looks like Ms. Black has successfully changed her match completely into a needle' announced McGonagall to the class. 'Ten points to Gryffindor' she smiled.

Carina basked in all the attention her needle was getting. Mary soon had success with turning her match into a needle. It had gone silver, and pointy, just like hers. By the end of the period, only Carina, Mary, and Hermione had made any change onto their matches.

Quirell's lessons were, by far the biggest joke at Hogwarts. His classroom stank of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. He told a completely unbelievable tale about how he had been given his turban by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. Seamus had asked how, when he turned pink and changed the subject. Carina was sure she'd have to learn this subject from the library books on her own.

~CFB~

Carina finally was able to look at the long parchment she'd swiped from the drawer. She was dreadfully curious on what it was, to have been marked highly dangerous in Filch's eyes. Mary, Harry, and Ron had also joined her; stating 'Of course I want to know what it is! You stole it from Filch!'

'Open sesame?' asked Carina, tapping the parchment with her wand as she held it like a portrait.

'Open sesame? Really Carina' said Mary.

'Look, there's writing on it' said Ron, pointing out the ink blossoming on the page.

It read:

" _It would seem that a strange girl has stolen this from Filch's office. Prongs_ _ **solemnly**_ _sends his congratulations to Ms. Carina Black._

 _Mr. Padfoot agrees with Mr. Prongs and hopes his daughter uses this for shenanigans to make people_ _ **swear.**_

 _Ms. Leo wonders how Mr. Padfoot's daughter survived his big head, and hopes_ _ **that**_ _she has been_ _ **up to no good.**_

 _Mr. Moony bids Ms. Chameel's daughter happy pranking and hopes she_ _ **manages**_ _all her_ _ **mischief**_ _._

 _Mr. Wormtail hopes she doesn't_ _ **say**_ _bad things about her fellow pranksters._

 _Ms. Chameel wishes her daughter use her colorful abilities to make people laugh_ _ **out loud.**_ _"_

'Wow' said Carina.

'Maybe we should say it out loud?' said Harry.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good—' began Carina when the other ink faded off and new ink began swirling all over the paper.

They watched in awe as it introduced itself:

" _Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, along with Mme. Chameel and Leo, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

 _Are proud to present:_

 _ **The Marauder's Prank-book**_

 _ **And Aid for Mischief-Causing Spells"**_

The ink moved once more and the paper became slightly different, as different tabs for different things appeared along the side. They read:

" _ **Pranking Ideas/Suggestions/Plans**_

 _ **Making Pranking supplies for Worthy Pranks: Tips/Tricks**_

 _ **Useful Pranking Spells,**_

 _ **Color-changing spells,**_

 _ **Jinxes/Hexes for Amusing Reactions,**_

 _ **Jinxes/Hexes for Signature Reactions,**_

 _ **Spells for Note-Passing,**_

 _ **Spells for Enchanting Objects,**_

 _ **Spells for Humiliation,**_

 _ **Spells for Concealment**_

 _ **Useful Potions,**_

 _ **Color-changing Potions,**_

 _ **Itching Potions,**_

 _ **Antidotes for said Potions/Powders**_

 _ **Useful Powders,**_

 _ **How-to Run away from Teachers/Caretakers,**_

 _ **How-to Have Peeves assist in Pranks,**_

 _ **How-to Hide from Teachers/Caretakers,**_

 _ **How-to Get to the Common Room fast,**_

 _ **How-to Conceal your spells with Wand Under a Desk,**_

 _ **How-to Secretly Jinx/Hex Someone in Great Hall,**_

 _ **How-to Secretly Jinx/Hex Someone,**_

 _ **How-to Get Teachers to Ease Up on Punishments**_

 _The Marauders would like to especially thank Mr. Moony and Ms. Leo for organizing The Prank-Book."_

'We struck gold with this thing!' shrieked Carina.

'Hey, we should have cool nick-names like them.' Said Ron.

'Yeah' agreed Mary, nodding her head.

'I think Harry should be Prongs; even he called me strange' laughed Carina.

He blushed and said 'Then you should be Padfoot; you have cockiness for it'

'Mary should be Leo; she has to deal with Carina' said Ron.

'Moony seems like a smart person; I'm not sure he could be Ron,' said Mary, dodging a smack from Carina, 'and Wormtail is too much of a creepy name.'

'Maybe we should make up a new name' said Ron.

'Yeah, what would it be though' said Carina.

'He does have a lot of freckles' said Mary, thoughtfully.

'Hmm, would "Specks" be alright, Ron?' asked Harry.

'It would go, I am covered with freckles' said Ron, happy that he got a new nickname.

'I wonder what the other words do' said Carina, remembering the last few lines.

'Manage mischief?' said Harry.

'Maybe it's the other way around' said Mary.

'Mischief managed' said Carina.

The long parchment's ink faded and they were left with a blank paper once more.

~CFB~

The next day, Harry and Ron reached the Great Hall for the first time without getting lost, thanks to the Prank-book. Carina and Mary were already there, Carina eating a sandwich she made herself, and Mary eating eggs and bacon.

'Hey look, Prongs and Specks finally got here on time' laughed Carina, nudging Mary.

They sat across from them, like always, Harry getting porridge, and Ron devouring everything.

'Specks, don't you know when to breathe' said Mary in disgust.

'Don't say anything until you've swallowed that' warned Carina, looking at him when he opened his mouth to reply.

'Merlin Padfoot, what are you eating?' said Harry, eyeing her sandwich curiously.

It was a pancake on the bottom, layered with bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, another pancake in between, more eggs, more bacon, and topped off with another pancake, just for luck. It was also drenched with maple syrup. Carina raised a crimson eyebrow and simply said 'A breakfast sandwich'

Ron swallowed his mouthful and said 'I want one of those', looking at her monstrosity with a hungry look in his eye.

'Well too bad, it's mine' winked Carina.

'Don't get in between Padfoot and her food,' warned Mary 'She won't hesitate to bite you if you touch it'

Carina's only response to that was an innocent pouty look. Ron looked at her sandwich, back at her, back to her sandwich, and finally to his own plate. She smirked at him and resumed eating her sandwich.

'What have we got today?' asked Harry, after he laughed at Ron's longing looks at Carina's sandwich.

'Double Potions with the Slytherins,' said Ron. 'Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them—we'll be able to see if it's true.'

'Great, we get to spend over two hours with a bat that lives in the dungeons' muttered Carina, glaring at Snape.

Mary had heard and did not hesitate to burst out laughing. The mail arrived and Harry's owl, Hedwig, brought him a note. He scribbled something and then sent it off with Hedwig.

'Do you want to go visit Hagrid later, in the afternoon?' asked Harry.

'Sure' replied the two girls and Ron.

~CFB~

Carina was sure she'd seen the epitome of a hateful teacher in elementary, but this Snape guy _**loathed**_ her and Harry. Potions later that day, was a great example.

The lessons took place in the dungeons. It was cold and creepy with all the pickled animals floating around in glass jars along the walls.

The greasy-haired professor started the class by taking roll call, and he paused slightly at Harry's name.

'Ah, yes,' he said softly, 'Harry Potter. Our new—celebrity'

Malfoy and the two other trolls snickered behind their hands. Carina shot them a death-glare and they settled down.

'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,' he began.

He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. Snape also had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort—like Professor McGonagall.

'As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'

Suddenly, making the class jump, Snape barked 'Potter!'

'What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'

Harry looked stumped, and Carina didn't blame him; the answers to that were at the back of the potions book! Hermione's hand shot into the air.

'I don't know, sir' said Harry.

Snape sneered at him.

'Tut, tut—fame clearly isn't everything'

'Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?'

Carina was glaring at him even harder than before, and was trembling with rage as Malfoy and his goons shook with laughter. Mary tried calming her down by holding her hand under the table.

'I don't know, sir'

'Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming eh, Potter?'

Carina's eyes started flickering green as she looked at Harry's helpless gaze.

'What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?'

Carina had had enough, and stood from her seat.

'You know all of those answers are at the back of the potions book' said Carina, in a forced calm voice, but trembling with rage, eyes still vivid green.

'I'm not telling you how to teach your class, PROFFESOR, but maybe you should explain to us what these things are, before you go on, quizzing people about it. The first makes a sleeping potion; Draught of the Living Death, a bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat, and the last one's a trick question; they're the same plant'

Mary pulled her into her seat, as Snape looked as if he'd been slapped. Her eyes faded back to usual gray, and he recomposed himself. Seamus caught her eye and sent her a wink and an approving nod.

'10 points from Gryffindor for your outburst, Black' spat Snape, gritting her last name out bitterly.

'Well, Why haven't you copied that down?'

They were assigned with making a simple potion to cure boils. The greasy bastard criticized every Gryffindor's potions but seemed to like Malfoy, bragging about the 'perfect' way he'd stewed his horned slugs. A loud hissing noise distracted Carina from daydreaming about pranking Malfoy and Snape, as acid-green smoke filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was flowing all over the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Everyone stood on their stools, while Neville, who'd been drenched with the potion, moaned in pain as angry, red boils sprang up over his arms and legs.

'Idiot boy!' snarled Snape, clearing the potion with his wand.

'I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?'

Neville whimpered as boils begun to pop up all over his nose.

'Take him to the Hospital Wing' he spat at Seamus.

He rounded on Harry and Ron, who'd been working next to Neville.

'You—Potter—why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's a point you've lost for Gryffindor'

Carina's eyes turned green as she looked at Harry, who shook his head at her. Mary was trembling beside her as well, and this time, she held on to her hand, both crushing each other's.

At the end of the double period, Carina, whose eyes remained green for the rest of the period, walked up to his desk to put her potion on it. He looked up from his papers and she glared so hard into his tunneled-black eyes, he moved back slightly. Content with his reaction, she smirked and her eyes went right back to gray, her hair turning black, as she walked out of his bat-cave. His reaction to this was more violent, as a glass exploded, when she shut the door.

She caught up to Harry, Mary, and Ron as they walked towards Hagrid's. It seemed Ron was trying to cheer him up for his point lost.

'Cheer up, Prongs. Padfoot lost way more points than you' said Ron.

'Only because I was defending my friends' said Carina, eyes going black, to match her hair.

'Calm down, he isn't Snape' said Mary.

'Sorry Specks, Snape's just such an asshole' ranted Carina.

'Anyways, it all balances out with the points we got in McGonagall's class' pointed out Mary.

Harry seemed to cheer up at this, and they all continued walking out towards a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. When Harry knocked, they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks, along with a familiar small one.

Hagrid's big hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. 'Hang on,' he said 'Back, Fang'

He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. Carina's pug was there, wagging its curly little tail.

'Bombur!' said Carina, reaching for her small little companion. Her hair returned to its vibrant shade of red.

'That's who he 'longs to; he n' Fang been playin' all day' said Hagrid, smiling at Carina.

She cradled her rascal and she looked around the room. It was only one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

'Make yerselves at home.' Said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. Bombur shook himself away from Carina's grasp, and ran up to Fang, also licking Ron.

'This is Ron,' Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

'Another Weasley, eh?' said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. 'I spend half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest'

'I'm Carina' Hagrid eyed her curiously. 'Black? I bet you're a troublemaker too'

She smirked and then Mary introduced herself.

Carina investigated the rock cakes. They were shapeless lumps that were, true to their name, hard like rocks. Harry and Ron both took one, but Carina and Mary refused, stating that they weren't hungry.

Harry began telling Hagrid all about their disastrous potions lesson. He said that he hardly liked any of the students, and not to worry.

Carina also began wondering of Snape hated her too, as Harry insisted that he hated him.

Hagrid turned to Ron and asked 'How's yer brother Charlie? I liked him a lot—great with animals'

Ron began telling Hagrid all about Charlie's work with the dragons in Romania and Harry picked up a paper from the table. He read it and then seemed to be surprised at what was on it.

'Hagrid!' he said 'that Gringotts break-in happened the day after my birthday! It might've happened while we were there!'

'August 1st?' asked Mary, glancing at Carina.

'Yeah' said Harry.

'That's the day after my birthday too,' said Carina. 'We went to Diagon Alley that day.'

'Odd, you and Prongs have the same birthday' said Ron, peering curiously at both of them.

Hagrid choked when Ron said this and then hastily offered them another rock cake. They all refused, Harry and Ron mainly. Carina walked out of the hut with them and called Bombur to follow her. He did, but he barked a bit at Fang before following her to the castle. She had noticed, the stubby little dog was growing; he was rather small when she got him, but now he was growing bigger, particularly in the weight department.

~CFB~

When they'd walked into the Common Room, Bombur hopped up the stairs to their dorm, probably to take a nap. Harry spotted a notice that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday—and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

'Typical, just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy' said Harry darkly.

'You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself' said Ron reasonably. 'I bet Malfoy's all talk anyways.

Carina wasn't so sure what the big deal about Quidditch was about. She felt that it was just something people used to brag about themselves; indeed, Seamus Finnegan boasted he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would talk loudly about how he almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. Harry told the girls about Ron's big argument with Dean Thomas, another boy in their dorm, about soccer. He couldn't see what was so exciting about it, apparently. Harry had walked in once watching Ron poke Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make them move. Mary laughed loudly at this, stating 'Specks would think anything Muggle is strange; he was raised by wizards'

On Thursday morning, at breakfast, Hermione had bored them all to death about stupid flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages.

Carina was very focused on her new concoction of a sandwich: peanut butter on a biscuit, topped off with bananas, bacon, sausage, blueberries, and smothered in white gravy.

Ron too, concentrated on her sandwich; he found out that she made a new one everyday; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Harry had stopped questioning her strange concoctions and focused on his own breakfast. Mary was arguing about the best way to insult someone with George. Hermione's lecture was thankfully cut short with the arrival of the mail.

Neville got a small package from his grandmother. He opened it, much to Carina's curiosity and showed them a marble, which was full of white smoke.

'It's a Remembrall!' he told them excitedly. 'Gran knows I forget things—this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. You hold it tight like this, and if it turns red—oh…' He pulled a face of deep concentration as the Remembrall turned bright red.

He was trying to remember what he'd forgotten, when Malfoy took it from his hand. Carina, along with Harry and Ron, leapt to their feet. Sadly, Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quickly, appeared in a flash.

'Not fighting, I hope' she said sternly.

'Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor.'

Scowling, Malfoy dropped the Remembrall back on the table.

'Just looking' and he walked away.

At 3:30 that afternoon, the four walked with the other first-years down the front steps to the grounds for their first flying lesson. The Slytherins were already there, glaring at the Gryffindors. Twenty broomsticks were lying in neat lines on the ground. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, spiky-gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

'Well, what are you all standing around for? Everyone stand by a broomstick. Hurry up' she barked.

Carina went to a broom on opposite sides of Harry and Mary. The broom was old looking and some twigs were bent at odd angles. A carving could be seen on the ancient handle.

'Stick your wand hand over your broom,' called Madam Hooch, as Carina moved to the opposite side—the lefty struggle—and stuck out her left hand. 'And say up!'

'UP!'

Carina's broom jumped into her hand instantly. Mary's had also shot up quickly. Glancing around, Harry, Mary, Ron, and herself had been able to have the broom move into their hands. Hermione's broom rolled over, Neville's hadn't moved at all. Maybe, brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid. She had heard a quiver in Neville's voice that said clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Carina had laughed when she heard her bark at Malfoy that he'd been doing it wrong for years.

'Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle—three—two—'

Neville pushed off too early and he shot up like a rocket. He went up what must've been around twenty feet, and slipped right off the broom, crashing with a nasty crack.

Carina flinched as Madam Hooch, with a pale face, muttered 'Broken wrist'

'You will not move while I take this boy to the Hospital Wing! You leave those brooms where they are, or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say "Quidditch"' she said.

Malfoy burst into laughter and said loudly 'Did you see his face, the great lump?'

The other Slytherins began laughing as well, and Carina snapped, eyes and hair turning black quickly.

'I'll give you a great lump if you don't shut up, right now.' She said menacingly.

'Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?' said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. 'Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Black'

Carina whirled around so fast Parkinson took a step back.

Her eyes were surely dancing with flames as she retorted 'Actually, I like pugs, not a nice sweet boy. But seems an excuse for a witch, like you, wouldn't know the first thing about "nice" nor "sweet", and only knows "bitch" '

Parkinson didn't say much after that; she burst into tears and another Slytherin girl comforted her, glaring at Carina. Mary laughed at her expression as she continued crying.

Malfoy ran forward and grabbed something out of the grass. 'Look, it's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him' holding up the Remembrall.

'Give that here, Malfoy' said Harry quietly.

Carina turned to watch; her eyes still black.

Malfoy smiled nastily and said. 'I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find—how about—up a tree?'

'Give it here!' Harry yelled.

Malfoy jumped on his broomstick and hovered above an oak, and taunted 'Come and get it, Potter!'

Harry jumped onto his broom, ignoring Hermione's protests.

Carina gasped as he went as high as Malfoy. Ron whooped and watched eagerly.

They said several things she couldn't catch and then heard 'Catch it if you can, then!' Malfoy threw the ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. Carina watched in awe, as Harry went into a steep dive and just before he hit the ground, he caught it, and pulled his broom straight as he landed on the grass, Remembrall clutched safely in his fist. Her hair had gone from black, to blonde, and back to red, and back to blonde when she heard:

"HARRY POTTER!"

~CFB~

Carina found out later that day, at dinner, that Harry had been made Seeker, the youngest in a century, according to Ron. Her hair had returned to red when she'd heard the news and Ron exclaimed:

'Wicked!'

Fred and George came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.

'Wood's just told us; we're Beaters'

'I tell you; we're going to win the Quidditch Cup for sure this year.' Said Fred. 'Wood was almost skipping when he told us.'

'Anyways, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school. Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you' said George, leaving the hall once more.

'Note to self: Investigate Gregory the Smarmy' said Mary.

Someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy and his sidekicks.

'Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting on the train back to the Muggles?'

'You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you' said Harry coolly.

'I'd take you on anytime on my own' said Malfoy. 'Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only—no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?'

'Course he has,' said Ron, jumping to his defense. 'I'm his second; who's yours?'

'Crabbe. Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked.'

'Why not now?' growled Carina. 'Too chicken?'

His only response was a glare to her and he walked off, his goons right behind. Carina suddenly had a genius idea, and learning from the best, muttered a quick spell under the table.

' _Capite Canem'_

A red jet of light hit Malfoy, and his hands began turning into large, golden dog paws. From the sides of his head, golden retriever ears sprouted, and a long shaggy tail burst out of the back of his trousers. He began barking, much to the amusement of the Great Hall. Crabbe and Goyle backed away from him, as he began wagging his tail.

'Padfoot, you are now officially, the best friend anyone could ever hope for' laughed Mary, along with the entire Gryffindor table. Ron had tears coming out of his eyes, he was laughing so hard. Harry was smiling at her and said 'I think that should be your signature spell'

'I quite agree, my dear Prongs.'

Their fun didn't last however, when they looked at the teacher's table. Dumbledore had an amused glint in his eye and a small smile, but McGonagall and Snape looked like they'd seen a ghost.

Snape was the first to jump out of his seat and he led Malfoy to what Carina assumed, the Hospital wing. McGonagall strode over to the Gryffindor table and said, 'That was an excellent show of Transfiguration, but I demand to know who did it.'

The whole table got quiet and no one was willing to snitch on their fellow Gryffindor. McGonagall eyed the four first years, particularly Carina—who peered back innocently at her—when she narrowed her eyes, and walked back up to the Teacher's table. The Hall, which had gone deathly quiet when McGonagall spoke, resumed its usual chatter.

'Merlin, Padfoot! That was the greatest thing I've ever seen' exclaimed Ron, wiping his eyes.

'Thank you, Thank you, I try' said Carina, smirking.

'Carina, was that you?' asked Hermione.

'Course not' she said, widening her eyes innocently.

'Padfoot, you are good.' Said Harry, nodding his head appreciatively, after Hermione turned away.

Seamus caught her eye and she winked at him. He laughed and barked at her. Carina snickered and nodded her head. His eyes widened slightly and Carina put on her innocent face. If anything, he laughed even harder.

She turned back to her plate, where she began making her new creation. Carina decided to make her burger have bacon, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, onion rings, fries, barbeque sauce, brown sauce, and her special sauce—made of mustard, ketchup, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, hot sauce, and a drop of lemon juice.

Ron was looking at her plate once more, as Carina unhinged her jaw like an anaconda and took a bite. Many were used to her moans of delight, but that didn't stop them from looking at a small first year eating a giant burger.

'Can I taste some of that sauce you made Padfoot?' asked Ron precariously, looking longingly at her mixture.

'Sure, tastes best with some fries'

'Chips!' exclaimed Harry.

'Fries!' shot back Carina.

'I don't care as long as it's good' said Ron, dipping a fry into her sauce.

Carina watched his reaction with a smirk, as his face made several amusing expressions. The first she made out to be surprise, the second—delight, the third—pleasure, the fourth—well, she couldn't really make it out, but it looked positively creepy.

'I am in love' said Ron, gazing at her sauce.

Harry laughed with Carina as Ron looked like he would give her his firstborn, when she offered him the rest of the sauce.

~CFB~

Carina and Mary tried talking the boys out of going to 'meet with Malfoy' later.

They were certain he was lying about the whole thing, and would backstab them. Of course, they had learned from their mistakes at the orphanage, when Lindsey had teasingly invited Carina to fight and hadn't showed up at all, and rather ratted them out to Ms. Campbell.

In the end, they decided to go with them. Hermione had joined them, unwillingly of course, but she wasn't going to let them go alone. The Fat Lady had left the portrait, and Hermione had no way in. Apparently, she'd overheard their conversation at dinner and tried stopping them as well.

'Hermione, we already tried telling them,' said Carina and Mary.

'That still doesn't make it right' said Hermione with her nose up in the air.

Suddenly, Carina was about to let out a loud scream, but she caught herself. Neville was asleep on the floor, but had woken up when they'd passed him.

'Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed.' He said.

'The password's Pig Snout, but the Fat Lady's not there.' Whispered Carina.

'How's your arm?' asked Harry.

'Good, Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute.'

'Er—good Neville, but we've got to go somewhere, we'll see you later—'

'Don't leave me!' whispered Neville furiously. 'The Bloody Baron's been past twice already.'

Ron glared at both newcomers and said 'If any of you get us caught, I won't rest until I learn the Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.'

Harry hissed at them to be quiet and they moved forward. They finally made it to a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed to the trophy room.

Of course, Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there. The crystal trophy cases glimmered silver where the moonlight caught them through the massive windows. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked at them in the darkness. They all jumped when they heard a familiar voice, the voice of every prankster's worst nightmare.

'Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner' said Filch, his voice muffled in the room next to theirs.

Harry waved at them to follow him quickly; they scurried away from Filch's voice. Neville had barely made it out of the room, when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. They crept down a long hall full of suits of armor. They could still hear Filch, when Neville began running in fear and tripped, grabbed Ron, and crashed into a suit of armor.

The noise would wake the dead, thought Carina.

'SHIT!' cursed Carina, at the same time Harry yelled 'RUN!'

They ran what felt like a maze, finding a hidden passageway behind a thick curtain. They came out near the Charms classroom, which was miles away from the trophy room.

'I think we lost him' Harry panted. Neville was bent over, wheezing and spluttering.

'I—told—you' gasped Hermione, clutching her chest.

'We've got to get back to the Tower' said Ron.

'We told you so' said both Carina and Mary.

'Malfoy tricked you, He was never going to meet you—he tipped off Filch and that's why he went there' said Hermione.

'Fine, you were right' he grumbled.

'Let's go'

Sadly, they had run into Peeves, aid or nightmare of students, who then threatened to tell Filch where they were.

Ron, the idiot, had tried pushing him out of the way when he bellowed: 'STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR'

'DAMN IT' roared Mary, as she began running, like the rest of them, for her life.

They hit a dead end—the door was locked.

'This is it! We're done for! This is the end!' moaned Ron, hearing Filch's echoing footsteps.

Carina remembered one of the Marauder spells and said 'Move! _Alohomora_!' tapping the lock.

It clicked and the door swung open—they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed against it, listening.

Carina however, with Neville and Mary, was looking at a huge, three headed dog. It had huge fangs, and was standing still, all eyes staring right at them. At its feet was a wooden trapdoor that got covered as the dog moved over it.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit!' chanted Mary, still looking at the huge dog.

Neville had finally caught Harry's attention and took one look at the dog, and then opened the door quickly. They ran out as fast as they could, choosing Filch rather than death. He wasn't there, and they ran all the way up to the seventh floor. The Fat Lady was there, and she asked where they were but Harry panted 'Never mind that—pig snout, pig snout. She swung forward, and they collapsed into armchairs.

'What the hell are they thinking?!' said Mary, after she'd caught her breath.

'They probably weren't, Leo' retorted Carina; still thinking about how easily she could open the door.

'You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you. Didn't you see what it was standing on?' snapped Hermione.

'The floor? I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy looking at its heads,' suggested Harry.

'It was on a trapdoor, 'Mione' said Carina.

'It's obviously guarding something' said Hermione, standing up.

She glared at them and said: 'I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed—or worst, expelled. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed.' She said, nose high in the air, walking up the dormitory.

'She needs to sort out her priorities' said Ron, gaping.

Mary laughed at this and walked up the stairs to the girl's dorm.

'You'd think we dragged her along' said Carina loftily, standing up.

Ron laughed and Carina said 'Good Night' and followed Mary's steps up the stairs, desperate for good nights sleep with her chubby little pug.


	6. Chapter 6

CFB: Chapter 6

Carina woke up groggily as Hermione's alarm clock went off. The damned thing went off every school morning, at 7 o' clock sharp. Even Bombur was annoyed; he always left to the common room when the alarm went off. Carina dressed and she went to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ron were there already, surprising her.

'Damn, what happened to make you guys wake up this early?' asked Carina.

'I wanted to see the look on Malfoy's face' said both boys simply.

'That was great! We should have another adventure!' exclaimed Ron.

'Well now we know where that package that Hagrid took is.' Said Harry.

Carina began ignoring them as they began talking about Quidditch and focused on making her daily sandwich. This time, it was a base of toast, then egg, strawberry jelly, ham, bacon, blueberries, small bit of oatmeal, and topped off with the top half of a biscuit.

'You know, I think that's the most normal sandwich you have ever made, Padfoot.' said Harry, looking at her sandwich.

'Did you put oatmeal in there?!' exclaimed Mary.

'Um, yes. Can't you see it dripping out? I thought you could see, Leo' said Carina sarcastically.

Ron didn't say a word, and eyed it with curiosity as usual.

The morning mail arrived and everyone's attention was turned to a long, thin package carried by six large owls. Carina wondered who the package belonged to. Her ponderings were answered, as the owls dropped the package in front of Harry, splashing and spilling several drinks and plates. Right as he was going to reach for it, another owl came and dropped a letter on top of it. Harry opened the letter first, which was a good thing, as Ron looked like he was on the tip of ripping the parcel to shreds.

'It says not to open it at the table.' Said Harry, passing the letter to Ron.

'A Nimbus Two Thousand!' moaned Ron enviously. 'I've never even touched one.'

'Well now you can' said Carina, smiling at Ron as they got up to leave the hall.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle blocked their way out of the hall however. He took it and Carina and Mary didn't hesitate to step forward.

'That's a broomstick, you'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them.' He said, jealousy and spite glowing on his face as he threw it back to him.

'It's not just any old broomstick' said Ron, smiling triumphantly. 'It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got back at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?' he said grinning. 'Comets look flashy, but they're just not in the same league as the Nimbus'

'What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle' Malfoy spat back. 'I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig.'

As Carina's hair turned black, and just before Ron could reply, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.

'Not arguing, I hope?' he squeaked.

'Of course not, Professor' said Carina, with her most innocent voice possible. 'Malfoy here took Harry's package without permission, and he insulted Ron.' She said sweetly. She could feel Malfoy's patronizing glare aimed directly at her.

He smiled at her and turned to face Malfoy. 'Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy, for being rude to Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley.

Malfoy piped up, 'Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor.'

'Yes, yes, that's right' said Flitwick, smiling at Harry. 'Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?'

'A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir.' Said Harry proudly, hiding a laugh at Malfoy's horrified face. 'And it's really thanks to Malfoy here,' he smirked at him, 'that I got it'

Carina and Mary burst out laughing at his face and they laughed along with Ron and Harry all the way up the stairs at Malfoy's expression.

'Well, it's true, if he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team—'

'So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?' came an angry voice from behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, eying Harry's broomstick with contempt.

'I thought you weren't speaking to us?' said Harry.

'Yes, don't stop now, it's doing us so much good' said Ron.

'Ron!' said Mary, smacking him upside the head.

But it was too late, and Hermione marched away with her nose high in the air.

'What was that for?!' said Ron, rubbing his head.

'Don't be rude!'

'She was starting it!'

'Are you five years old?!'

'No!'

'Then act your age!' Said Mary, marching towards Hermione.

'Specks, you really got to watch your mouth' said Carina, grimacing at Mary's honey-colored hair turning around the corner.

Ron didn't reply, and they walked up to put the broomstick in their dormitory.

~CFB~

Harry was really starting to piss Carina off. All day since the morning, he'd been dragging her, Mary, and Ron up and down the stairs to check on the broom, to the Quidditch field, and finally when lessons ended, to the Great Hall. He bolted down his food and ran upstairs, taking them all with him. Carina didn't even get a chance to build her freaking sandwich.

'Wow' sighed Ron, when they'd unwrapped the broomstick.

It certainly was nice looking. It was sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, tail full of neat straight twigs, and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold along the edge of the handle.

Thirty minutes before seven o' clock, they walked to the Quidditch field.

'He'd better not suck,' said Carina menacingly. 'I didn't even get to build my sandwich' she said, pouting.

'Course he doesn't, didn't you see him catch the Remembrall?' said Ron, sounding slightly disappointed at the thought of not witnessing the sandwich.

Ron, Mary, and Carina sat on a bench overlooking the field, as Harry talked with the Captain Oliver Wood. Curious, she watched as Wood showed him a red ball, then gave him a bat. A bat? Suddenly, a black ball smaller than the red one shot at his face. Her hair turned strawberry blonde as he smacked it. It went zooming around their heads and pelted towards Wood. He dived on it and pinned it to the ground, where he struggled to put it back in the crate. Wood pulled out a tiny thing; she couldn't see what it was, but she caught a glint of gold before he put it carefully in the crate.

The 'practice' was Harry catching golf balls that Wood had pulled out and he caught all of them. It was really dark when they all headed up to the Castle. Wood introduced himself and they all talked animatedly about Quidditch.

'Are you any good at Quidditch?' asked Wood, looking at Carina.

'Um, I don't know; I've never played.' She said.

'Really!' said Wood with an astonished look.

'I have never played either' said Mary, and Wood had such a surprised look, Carina started snickering.

Wood began prattling on about how all the different balls and how Chasers had to get the red Quaffles through the hoops high in the stadium. The Beaters smacked the black Bludgers around, trying to knock the other team off their brooms. Wood was the Keeper, and he had to block the Quaffles from getting through the hoops. The Seeker, Harry, had to catch a tiny gold ball called the Snitch, and when he did the game would end.

~CFB~

Carina hadn't noticed how long it had been since she'd gone to Hogwarts. When she realized it had been a month since they'd all boarded the train to Hogwarts. On Halloween morning, they woke to the smell of baked pumpkins. She and Mary had already planned their prank for Halloween. They had asked Fred and George where the kitchens were, so they could add the orange potion to the pumpkin dishes. They showed them to a portrait of a fruit bowl and he tickled the pear. A handle formed and they opened it.

It was a slightly smaller version of the Great Hall. Different stations for the different houses were easy to differentiate; many Gryffindors had a large appetite and theirs was the biggest. Not wanting to affect her own house, she asked one of the house elves to put it in the Slytherin and Snape's pumpkin dishes. The little elf refused at first, stating 'I don't think that's a necessary ingredient.'

'But the Slytherins all have a severe pumpkin allergy, this will counteract the effects' said Mary convincingly.

In the end, the little elf agreed and put it in all dishes containing pumpkins at the Slytherin table. Fred and George high fived them and then left.

'Ooh I can't wait for the banquet later' squealed Carina.

'Wait what time is it!' exclaimed Mary. 'We're gonna be late for Charms!'

'Crap!'

They ran through the same tapestry from their escapade involving the three-headed dog and slipped in to the classroom, just before the bell rang.

Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that they could start making things fly, something many had been wanting to do since he'd made Neville's toad fly around the classroom. He split them all into partners. Carina's partner was Mary, a relief since Ron had been trying to catch her eye. Ron had been paired up with Hermione, much to their displeasure. Mary had become one of her friends and she always smacked Ron when he had something bad to say about Hermione.

'Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing! Swish and Flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the words properly is important, too—Never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest' squeaked Professor Flitwick.

Little did he know, Carina and Mary had mastered the charm with Fred and George for one of their pranks. He gave them all a feather. Of course, she and Mary were already making theirs tickle Harry as he and Seamus tried to make theirs go up. Flitwick passed their table, and awarded them each five points. They watched in amusement, as Seamus got so impatient, he set it on fire. Harry put it out with his hat.

Ron was shouting 'Wingardium Leviosa!' while waving his arms like a bird at the next table.

They could all hear Hermione snap 'You're saying it wrong, it's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the –gar- nice and long'

'You do it then, if you're so clever.' Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up her sleeves smartly, flicked her wand, and said clearly, 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

The feather rose high off the desk, around four feet above their heads.

'Well done, Ms. Granger!' squeaked Flitwick. 'Five points to Gryffindor!'

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.

'It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly.' Said Ron to Harry.

Mary, upon hearing this, whirled around and smacked him, hard. Carina noticed Hermione's stunned face and she knocked into Harry as she passed him. She was in tears.

'I think she heard you' said Carina, rather sarcastically.

'So? She must've noticed she's got no friends.' Fumbled Ron.

'I'M HER FRIEND, RONALD!' roared Mary, turning on her heel and racing after Hermione.

Carina sighed. 'That was really mean' she said, shaking her black-haired head in disappointment.

Ron looked very uncomfortable when she smacked him upside the head and went after Mary and Hermione. Carina and Mary didn't bother speaking to Ron all day. Mary and Carina had tried to cheer her up, but Hermione had convinced to go back to their lessons. She was crying in the girl's bathroom and had wanted to be left alone.

They entered the Great Hall for dinner, Carina's hair a strawberry blonde because of her worry for Hermione. The Halloween decorations were very good. A thousand live bats fluttered over the heads of the students and swooping in and out of the dark gray clouds. Giant pumpkins were filled with candles, illuminating the hall.

Carina suddenly got very curious about their pumpkin potion when loud pops began echoing throughout the hall. Everyone's head turned to the Slytherin table and towards Professor Snape. Their heads were incased inside pumpkins, and had scary faces carved in them as well. Carina burst out laughing, along with the entire Hall, and she clutched Mary for support. The twins winked at them, and carried on eating. The only way they could take them off was to have someone break them.

Carina turned to look at the end of the table, where Malfoy and his gang usually sat. A pumpkin was around his head, and he didn't look very stable. He fell and cracked the pumpkin on the ground. It exploded, and he was covered in pumpkin seeds. She let out another roar of laughter.

Professor McGonagall did not look amused at all when she looked around the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore was very amused and held his familiar twinkle in his baby-blue eyes. Snape, who'd fallen when the pumpkin appeared, was covered with orange pumpkin seeds and pumpkin entrails. His murderous glare was aimed directly at Carina and Mary.

More explosions occurred when the Slytherins realized the only way to take them off was to break them. Their table was littered with orange pumpkin seeds, pumpkin entrails, and the remains of their dinner. Finally, the last pumpkin 'round Parkinson's head exploded with a loud boom and she was drenched with black ink and pumpkin seeds.

'That was for you, Neville' Carina winked at him, red hair falling in her face.

Thankfully, McGonagall's death glare was cut short with an interruption.

Professor Quirrell went sprinting down the hall, turban askew, and a look of terror on his face. He reached the teacher's table gasping, and croaked, 'Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know' and he collapsed in a dead faint.

The entire hall was in an uproar. Dumbledore waved his wand and several purple fireworks got their attention.

'Prefects,' he rumbled 'lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!'

Percy was in his element as he led them all towards the dorms.

Harry had forgotten all about their argument when he walked next to them 'How could a troll get in?'

'Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid' said Ron. 'Maybe Peeves let it in for a joke.'

'Oh my god' whispered Mary.

Carina turned to her curiously, along with Harry and Ron. One look at Mary's face and realization dawned on her.

'Hermione! She's still in the restroom!' Carina hissed.

Harry and Ron followed them as they ducked behind some Hufflepuffs and snuck down the deserted side corridor. Hearing footsteps, Carina pulled them all behind a large stone griffin.

Ron peered around and then flew back quickly. The footsteps faded and Ron said 'It' was Snape'

'What's he doing?' whispered Harry. 'Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?'

'Search me'

They followed Snape's footsteps and saw he was headed for the third floor.

'Can you smell something?' asked Mary.

'No?' said Harry.

'Wait, I'm beginning to smell it' said Carina, stuffing her face in her robes.

'Ugh!' grimaced Ron.

It was like old socks, mixed with the smell of rotten eggs and dirty toilet.

Then they heard it—a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed to the end of the passage to the left. Harry pulled them into the shadows and it came into view. It was twelve feet tall, its skin a dull, concrete gray, and its lumpy body like a boulder with its bald head perched on it like a coconut. It had short legs thicker than a bowl of oatmeal and flat horny feet. It's disgusting smell was invading the hall. It was holding a large wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

It stopped right near the bathroom and looked inside. It slouched in and Mary hissed, 'That's the bathroom Hermione's in!'

They rushed in after hearing Hermione's shriek of terror. She was pressed up against the wall opposite, looking pale. The troll was walking towards her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

'Confuse it!' said Harry to them.

Carina threw a shattered piece of sink at the wall. It stopped just a few feet away from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the nose. Its mean little eyes looked at Carina and it moved towards him, as graceful as a toddling baby. Ron then yelled 'Oi! Pea-brain!' and it turned to look at him. Mary then yelled too 'Idiot!' The troll rounded on them, and trapped them against a corner.

The shouts seemed to make him agitated and he began swinging the club around dangerously. Hermione was still pressed against the wall and Carina made to move her. She latched on to Carina's shoulder and they moved towards Harry, where he jumped on the trolls back. He jammed his wand up its nose and the troll howled, twisting and flailing.

Carina barely noticed the club swinging towards her and Hermione. With all her strength she shoved Hermione to the floor, just as a loud crack echoed, and she flew into the wall.

'CARINA!' shrieked Mary, her voice dulled by a ringing in Carina's head.

She couldn't breathe, her arm was on fire, and her head ached. Black spots flickered in her eyesight. Carina slumped towards the ground as she rested against the wall. She saw the troll lift his club and Ron cried out 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

The club flew out of the troll's hand, rose high into the air—and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto it's owner's head. The troll swayed precariously and fell flat on its face, with a loud thud that made the room tremble. Mary rushed towards where Carina was resting along the wall. Hermione's eyes were full of tears when she said, 'Is it—dead'

'I don't think so, I think it's just been knocked out' said Harry. He pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. 'Ew, troll boogers.'

He moved with Ron towards Carina.

'Can you stand?' asked Mary.

'Maybe' she whimpered.

Mary put her arm under her shoulder and Hermione around the other, and lifted her up slowly.

Carina screamed with pain as she got to her feet.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made them all look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they'd been making, but someone must've heard the crashes and roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall burst into the room, followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look, let a faint whimper, and sat down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at them with white lips. Carina had never seen her look so angry, not even when she turned Malfoy into part dog.

'What on earth were you thinking of?' said McGonagall, cold fury audible in her calm voice.

'You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?'

Snape eyed them all piercingly. Carina was trying not to gasp out in pain; she couldn't breathe.

'Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me.' Said Hermione, in a small voice.

'Miss Granger!'

'I went looking for the troll because, I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them'

Ron dropped his wand. Hermione. Telling a lie. To a teacher?!

'If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. When it was flailing around, Carina shoved me to the ground and let the troll injure her instead. While Mary and Ron distracted it, Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived.' Hermione hung her head.

'Well—in that case…' said McGonagall 'Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?!'

'Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses.'

Hermione tentatively moved Carina completely on Mary. She was having trouble ignoring the flames that licked down her side and arm. Carina let out a small gasp as her injured side leaned against Mary. She left and McGonagall turned to Harry, Ron, Mary, and Carina. She eyed Carina and Mary and went to help her. She laid a sensitive hand along her injured side and Carina whimpered.

'Well, I still say you were very luck, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go, but Ms. Black will remain with me.' Said Professor McGonagall.

'Miss Black, that was a very noble thing to do for Miss Granger.' Said Professor McGonagall, leading her to the Hospital Wing. McGonagall smiled at her and said 'I award you ten points, for putting others before your own well-being'

Carina gasped and croaked out 'Thank you'

~CFB~

Madam Pomfrey was fussing all over Carina when they'd reached the wing. Apparently, her arm had been broken in three places, her ribs were very bruised, some broken, and her head wasn't that great either.

'It seems we will have to regrow your bones, Miss Black. You'll have to stay here overnight; re-growing bones is a nasty business' said Madam Pomfrey, helping her into a nightgown. As she took off her robes, she looked at her broken arm. It was mottled with purple, yellow, and green bruises. Her side must be like that too. Madam Pomfrey wrapped her arm in a cast and had her lie down. She rushed back with two potions. One was a large bottle that was smoking. The other was a small purple one.

'This won't be pleasant' warned Madam Pomfrey, handing her the large, smoking potion.

Carina reached for it with her left hand and downed it. It tasted awful. It was like someone liquefied dread. It burned her throat as she drank it all. She coughed and spluttered when she finished it. The next potion, tasted like nothing at all and she felt slightly light headed and drowsy. Just as tiny needles began pricking her broken arm and ribs, she drifted to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

CFB: Chapter 7

Carina was lifted from her drifty sleep when Madam Pomfrey shook her, saying she could go now. When went up to the dormitory, however, she was assaulted by a mass of bushy brown hair.

'Thank you' said Hermione, still hugging her.

'N-no P-problem' choked out Carina.

'Oh I'm sorry!' said Hermione looking at her ribs.

'Nah, it's ok. Madam Pomfrey said I was fine.'

'CARINA!'

She turned to the armchairs by the fireplace. Mary was jumping out of her seat as she caught sight of Carina. Another, rib-crushing hug ensued.

'Don't ever do that again!' she cried.

'No promises' Carina smirked.

They all walked down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ron were already there, Harry tucking into his porridge and Ron, of course, eating whatever he could grab. She went and sat in her usual spot, and Hermione sat next to Mary.

'You know, now we have Moony, cause Hermione fits the bill' said Mary, eying Hermione carefully.

'Oh yeah, Hermione's smart and organized, just like Moony.' Said Carina.

Hermione blushed. 'Who's Moony?'

'Just one of the greatest people on the planet!' said Ron.

'He helped create The Prank-book' said Harry.

'It's this awesome parchment, that gives us good spells and potions for pranks' said Mary.

'It also teaches us how to do certain things, like How to Jinx someone secretly.' said Carina.

'That doesn't sound like good news; it can get you in trouble' said Hermione frowning disapprovingly.

'Whatever, I'm still going to call you Moony' said Ron, turning his full attention to his food once more.

'Same here' said Harry.

'Me too!' sang Carina.

'Moony, please pass the bacon' said Mary.

~CFB~

Entering November was dreadful. It turned very cold; the mountains around the school turned icy-gray and the lake froze thin chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost and Hagrid could be seen defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field in long moleskin overcoat, fur gloves, and enormous boots.

Carina felt like she'd never be warm again. It never got this cold in Texas; it was always warm and sunny with mild winters. Mary agreed with her and they bundled up before going outside and even inside the castle. Interestingly enough, all the Gryffindors seemed to be getting used to the new pranksters. Many of the upper grades in Gryffindor went to congratulate them on the great prank of Halloween.

The Quidditch season had also begun. On Saturday, Harry would play his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

During break on Friday, they all walked across the frozen courtyard. Hermione had conjured up a bright blue fire that they could carry in a jelly jar. They were sitting with their backs to it, getting warm.

'Shit, the bat's come up for light' said Mary, moving closer to Carina and Hermione and they snuggled closer to block the jar from sight.

Snape was limping, and Carina scanned him. He seemed to have something bothering his calf.

'You guys need to get that guilty look off your faces!' hissed Mary.

But it was too late, and Snape limped over. He didn't notice the fire, but maybe he wanted to be extra-horrible today.

'What's that you've got there, Potter?' he snapped.

'A book' said Mary.

'Library books are not to be taken outside the school,' said Snape 'Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor.'

He snatched the book from Harry's hand and limped away.

'I bet he made that up, just to say something to Prongs' snapped Carina, hair pitch black.

'Wonder what's wrong with his leg?' said Harry.

'Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him' said Ron bitterly.

The Gryffindor common room was especially noisy that evening. They all sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. Carina and Mary watched with amusement as Hermione berated them for asking if they could copy ('How will you learn?'), but they found a loophole as they asked her to read it through.

Carina had already finished her work, how could you be a good prankster without learning a thing or two. Mary had finished her homework the day she got it, stating 'I will not fall behind with any classes, even if I have to put off a prank'. Carina began reading the tabs on the Prank-book.

She was reading at _**How-to Secretly Jinx/Hex Someone**_ when Harry stood up.

'I'm off to go get Quidditch Through the Ages' said Harry.

'Better you than me' they all said.

Later, he ran back in.

'Did you get it?' asked Ron. 'What's the matter?'

In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.

'You know what this means?! He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him—he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion.'

Carina glanced around their faces. Hermione's eyes were wide; her face set in disbelief. Mary was looking slightly unsure. Ron however, was nodding along with Harry.

'No—he wouldn't.' said Hermione. 'I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe.'

'I don't think he did it either,' said Carina. 'That greasy bat may be a rude Slytherin-loving professor, but there has to be a reason why Dumbledore trusts them.'

'Honestly, Moony, you think all teachers are saints or something,' snapped Ron. 'I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?'

'I also think he wouldn't steal, I mean, what does he have to gain? If that dog is there to protect whatever is in there, wouldn't there also be more barriers?' said Mary.

Harry and Ron went to bed, the former looking quite thoughtful.

'Thanks for siding with me' said Hermione.

'Moony, I may hate Snape, but we've gotta have some brains in our group,' said Carina. 'And the boys are not all that bright' she pointed to her head.

'Yeah they probably just want to get back at him for taking the book' said Mary, tossing a rolled up paper in the trashcan.

Hermione smiled at them and they all went to bed. Bombur was there, snoozing away on her four-poster bed. He was big; his tummy was very easy to grab now. Carina pushed him away from the pillows and lay down. One thought was prominent in her mind. 'What is that dog guarding?'

~CFB~

The morning of the Quidditch match was very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the smell of fried sausages and cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

'Prongs, you've gotta eat something!' exclaimed Carina.

'I don't want anything Padfoot.'

'Just a bit of toast' wheedled Hermione.

'I'm not hungry'

He had a sort of self-pitying face on as he thought about the match.

'Harry, you need your strength,' said Seamus. 'Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team'

Carina smacked his shoulder. Seamus looked at her with an innocent face. She glared at him.

'Thanks Seamus' said Harry, watching him pile ketchup on his sausages.

At eleven o'clock the whole school went out to the stands 'round the Quidditch pitch. Many had binoculars. Carina joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan in the top row.

As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Carina and Mary colored it and Hermione did a tricky charm to make it flash alternating gold and scarlet.

Carina watched as he caught a glimpse of it. He smiled at them and continued walking towards Madam Hooch. She was talking to them about the rules, most likely and then she heard: 'Mount your brooms, please'

Fifteen brooms rose high into the air as Madam Hooch blew a silver whistle.

Carina heard a familiar voice.

'And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too—'

'JORDAN'

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

'And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve—back to Johnson and—no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes—Flint flying like an eagle up there—he's going to sc—no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle—that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and –OUCH—that must've hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger—Quaffle taken by the Slytherins—that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger—sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, cant tell which—nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyways. Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes—she's really flying—dodges a speeding Bludger—the goal posts are ahead—come on, now, Angelina—Keeper Bletchley dives—misses—GRYFFINDORS SCORE!'

Loud cheers from their side of the stadium filled Carina's ears and she also heard howls and moans from the Slytherins.

'Budge up there, move along'

'Hagrid!'

Carina pressed herself against Mary to give him space to join.

'Bin watching from me hut' said Hagrid. 'But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?'

'Nope' said Ron. 'Harry hasn't had much to do yet.'

Carina turned to look at the field. Harry was high in the air, scanning the field for the glint of the golden Snitch.

'Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'

Carina turned her attention back to the Chasers.

'Slytherin in possession,' Jordan was saying, ' Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the—wait a moment—was that the Snitch?'

Murmurs broke out as Pucey dropped the Quaffle; too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.

Suddenly, Harry dove towards the streak of gold. The Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs, went neck and neck with Harry as they hurtled toward the Snitch. The Chasers all stopped what they were doing to watch them. As Harry was about to catch it, Marcus Flint dove right in front of him, sending his broom off course.

'FOUL!' roared the Gryffindors.

Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, the Snitch had vanished once more.

Dean kept shouting, 'Send him off, ref! Red card!'

'What are you talking about, Dean?' asked Ron.

'Red card!' said Mary, 'In soccer, you get the red card and you're out of the game, Ron.'

Dean was nodding furiously with her.

'But this isn't soccer, Dean.'

'They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry out of the air.' Said Hagrid.

 _ **Quidditch is intense**_ , thought Carina.

Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.

'So—after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—'

'JORDAN!' growled McGonagall.

'I mean, after that open and revolting foul—'

'Jordan, I'm warning you—'

'All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession'

Carina watched as Harry dodged a Bludger, when his broom gave a lurch.

'What the hell's Harry doing?!' she screamed.

Harry went zigzagging through the air and making violent swishing movements that almost made him fall.

'It looks like,' said Mary. 'His broom is out of control?'

Lee was still commentating.

'Slytherins score!'

The Slytherins were cheering. No one else seemed to have noticed Harry's broom was behaving strangely.

'Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing,' mumbled Hagrid. 'If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom…but he can't have…'

Carina watched with wide eyes and blond hair as his broom started to roll over and over, and it suddenly gave a wild jerk and he swung off. He was dangling from it, barely holding on with one hand. The crowd gasped as they finally caught sight of Harry.

'Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?' Seamus whispered.

'Can't have,' said Hagrid, voice shaking. 'Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic—no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand.'

Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she looked frantically at the crowd.

'Moony, what are you doing?!' screeched Mary.

'I knew it!' Hermione gasped. 'Snape—look'

She passed them all the binoculars, each taking turns, and each turning a dreadful gray color. When Carina got them, she looked all over the teachers stand. McGonagall was looking with wide eyes and shaking, but oddly enough, Quirrell wasn't even trembling. He was muttering nonstop, almost in synchronization with Snape. Their eyes were fixed on Harry.

'He's doing something—jinxing the broom!' said Hermione.

'What is Quirrell doing' Carina murmured, hair turning dark blond.

'What should we do?' asked Ron.

'Leave it to me.'

Hermione disappeared, and she focused her attention on Harry. The Twins were circling under him, hoping to catch him if he fell. Meanwhile, Flint had taken the Quaffle and scored five times.

'Come on, Moony' Mary and Ron said together.

Carina turned to look at the teacher's stand once more. Hermione had fought her way across towards both teachers. She had accidentally knocked Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. His gaze broken, Carina turned to look at Harry. The broom had stopped going crazy, and they all gasped with relief. There was a loud yelp, as bright blue flames licked across Snape's robes. Carina smirked at him and turned to the game, her hair normal crimson.

'Neville, you can look!' said Ron. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the past couple of minutes.

Harry went into, yet another, steep dive when she watched him clap his hand to his mouth, like he was going to be sick—he crashed onto the field on all fours—coughed—and something gold fell into his hand. The idiot! He had almost swallowed the Snitch! Carina watched in complete amusement as he began jumping around, Snitch held high in his hand.

~CFB~

They all walked with Hagrid to his hut. Hagrid made a strong cup of tea for Harry and they all began talking about the broom incident.

'It was Snape,' Ron was explaining. 'We all saw him, He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you'

'Rubbish' said Hagrid. 'Why would Snape do somethin' like that?'

They all looked at one another, wondering if they could tell him.

'I found something about him,' Harry began in a low voice. 'He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding.'

Hagrid dropped the teapot with a loud crash.

'How do you know about Fluffy?'

'FLUFFY?!' squeaked Mary.

'Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to try'n guard the—'

'Yes?' asked Harry eagerly.

'Now, don't ask me anymore,' said Hagrid sternly. 'That's top secret, that is.'

'But Snape's trying to steal it.'

'Rubbish' said Hagrid again. 'Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort.'

'So why did he just try and kill Harry?' exclaimed Hermione.

It seemed the afternoon's event changed her mind about Snape.

'I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid; I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye-contact and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!'

'Well Quirrell is kinda acting weird too, Moony, he was doing the exact same thing as Snape.' Said Carina reasonably.

'Padfoot, I thought you hated Snape.' Said Mary.

'I do, with a passion, but like you said, we've gotta be realistic. Why would Quirrell attempt it, if Snape were too? He went all out of character; he wasn't even trembling. You can't get rid of all your suspects' said Carina.

Mary went into deep thought, but it seemed only she had heard.

'I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!' said Hagrid hotly. 'I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! —'

'Maybe he wants to, but he wouldn't' muttered Carina.

'—Now listen to me, all of yeh—yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicholas Flamel—'

'Aha!' exclaimed Harry. 'So there's someone called Nicholas Flamel involved, is there?'

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

~CFB~

Christmas was very close. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. Carina had never seen snow before. Texas may have had cool winter weather, but never cold enough temperatures for anything to freeze. She jumped out of bed, dislodging Bombur, as he flew off with her.

'MARY!' she screamed.

'Whaaaat' she groaned.

'ITS SNOWING!'

'No way.' Mary had shot up at these words.

'Look!'

They ran to the window and watched as little snowflakes swirled around in the winter winds.

'Wow….' They both gasped.

They dressed in heavy layers. The corridors were not very warm and had become icy and bitter winds rattled the windows. Carina went and sat in her usual spot.

'Wow, did you come back from Antarctica?' asked Ron.

''Scuse me, it's cold and I'd like to be warm, got it?' she said menacingly. Ron raised his hands up in defense.

'Ugh, I hope we don't have detention in the dungeons again, that was horrible.' Said Mary groaning as she sat next to Carina.

They had gotten detention with the Weasley twins when they had bewitched several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.

'Well you wouldn't have detention if you followed the rules.' Said Hermione.

Mary looked at Carina and she looked back, just before they burst out in loud laughter.

'Great joke, Moony' said Mary, clutching her stomach.

'We do try to follow the rules, but we lost track of them' said Carina, after she stopped laughing.

'Sure, and I'm a three-headed dog' laughed Ron.

Harry started laughing with him.

Hermione looked very disgruntled as she began eating her breakfast.

Potions class was even worst, if that was possible, than usual. Carina could see her breath rise in a warm mist as the weather turned colder.

'I do feel so sorry' drawled Malfoy loudly, one potions class. 'For all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home.'

Carina fought hard to stay calm. She and Mary were staying at Hogwarts, and had sent a letter to Ms. Campbell about it. Carina's only friend was with her, and she wasn't looking forward to meeting Lindsey and Eve over the holidays. Carina felt her hair turn black and she avoided talking the entire lesson.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

'Hi, Hagrid, want any help?' offered Ron, sticking his head through the branches.

'Nah, I'm all right, thanks Ron.'

A cold drawl came from behind them. 'Would you mind moving out of the way? Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose—that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to'

Carina crushed her hands into fists and her hair turned black as night when Ron dove at Malfoy. Sadly, Snape came up the stairs right when he did.

'WEASLEY!'

Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

'He was provoked, Professor Snape.' Defended Hagrid. 'Malfoy was insultin' his family.'

'Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid.' Said Snape silkily. 'Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley. Be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you.'

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

'I am going to kill him slowly, with a rusty spoon.' Said Carina menacingly, fists still clenched.

'I'm with you, Padfoot' said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back.

'I hate them both,' said Harry. 'Malfoy and Snape'

'With you, Prongs' said Mary.

'Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas' said Hagrid. 'Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat.'

They followed him to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

'Ah, Hagrid, the last tree—put it in the far corner, would you?'

The hall looked amazing. Chains of holly and mistletoe hung around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

'How many days you got left til yer holidays?' asked Hagrid.

'Just one' said Hermione. 'And that reminds me—we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library.'

'Oh yeah, almost forgot there Moony.' Said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

'The library?' questioned Hagrid, following them out of the hall.

'Oh, we're not working,' said Harry brightly. 'Ever since you mentioned Nicholas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is.'

'You what?' Hagrid looked shocked. 'Listen here—I've told yeh—drop it. It's nothin' to yeh bout what that dog's guarding.'

'We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all' said Carina innocently batting her eyelashes.

'Unless you'd like to tell us and save the trouble?' added Harry. 'We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere—just a hint—I know I've read his name somewhere.'

'I'm sayin' nothin'' said Hagrid flatly.

'Just have to find out for ourselves, then' said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

Carina groaned. They had been looking for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because, according to Harry, how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time. There were tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves, hundreds of narrow rows. They were never going to find it!

After a couple of hours, Harry had gotten kicked out of the library, so they left. Lunch had begun, and Hermione begun lecturing them about looking when she went home for the holidays.

'Send me an owl if you find anything'

'Ask your parents if they know who Flamel is' said Ron. 'It'd be safe to ask them'

'Very safe, as they're both dentists' said Hermione.

~CFB~

Once the holidays had started, Carina and Mary noticed that the common room was far emptier than usual. Fred had caught up with them one day when they were exploring the castle.

'What are my favorite firsties doing?' he asked.

'Your brother's a firstie' said Carina, turning to look at him.

He paused, put two fingers on his chin, and examined both of them.

'Yeah, you two are my favorite.' Said Fred.

'We are exploring' said Mary, looking behind a thick curtain.

'Found anything?' he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

'Nope, except random people making out in broom closets' said Carina.

'Making out?' asked Fred.

'Kissing furiously?' said Mary, smirking at him.

'Oh!' he said, and a light pink color went to his cheeks.

'Have we made THE Fred Weasley blush?' asked Carina, turning to smirk at him.

'Well here it's called snogging' said Fred, trying to recover.

'Well you're still blushing; anyone you want to kiss, huh?' taunted Carina.

'No!' shouted Fred, a little too quickly.

'I'm bored!' said Mary, who had been ignoring them to investigate a statue.

'We should do something. A prank!' said Carina.

'On who, though.' Said Fred.

'Maybe Snape, during Christmas dinner.' Said Carina.

'Ooh I'd like to dress him up! Like an elf!' said Mary.

'Why would you want to dress him up like an elf?' asked Fred, his eyebrows high.

'An elf?' asked Carina. 'Oh! You think house elves, no! In the Muggle world, elves are dressed really Christmassy like with green pointed hat, with a bell at the end of it, and funny clothes, and striped tights, complete with pointed shoes that curl.'

'That sounds wonderful' said Fred, eyes glazed over.

'Let's get to it!'

~CFB~

They plotted their humiliation in the twin's dorm. Lee Jordan had gone home for the holidays so the dorm was empty except for the twins.

'Damn, you need to clean in here!' said Carina, looking at the piles of dirty clothes on the floor, and socks strewn across wardrobes and dressers. She sat in the center of the room, where there was no mess.

'Eh' said George, waving his hand around.

'Ok, so how are we going to get close enough to hex him?' asked Mary, sitting next to Carina.

'Wait! Be right back!' Carina jumped up and ran to her dorm.

She couldn't believe she'd barely thought about it! Bombur jumped and began following her. Carina reached into her trunk and pulled it out. Bombur trailing right behind her, she ran back to the twin's dorm.

'This. Is. The secret, to our success.'

Carina pulled out the long parchment. She watched as the twin's eyes widened comically.

'No way.' Said Fred, his voice but a whisper.

'It isn't—' gasped George.

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' said Carina, waving her wand over it.

The ink spread across the page.

'Boys, welcome to the Prank-book.' Said Mary, handing them the parchment.

Fred's mouth was wide open and George hadn't uttered a word as they read all the tabs.

'Fred.' Said George sharply.

'George'

'Get it.'

Fred jumped up from the floor and reached into his trunk. A similar parchment was in his hand.

'No.' said Carina.

'Way.' Finished Mary.

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' said George, tapping it with his wand.

Carina watched, completely dumbfounded as ink spread across the page.

" _Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, along with Mme. Chameel and Leo, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers_

 _Are proud to present:_

 _ **~The Marauder's Map~"**_

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. Tiny ink dots were moving around the castle. Carina watched as she looked at the Gryffindor Common Room and found Carina Black sitting right next to Mary Fawley.

'We owe them so much' sighed Fred.

'Noble men and women, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers.' Said George.

'Hey, what is that?' said Fred curiously.

A little ribbon was right by her name, it read Padfoot. A similar one next to Mary's name said Leo.

'Wow that's wicked!' said George.

'Leo, the secrets out, they found out our nicknames!' said Carina, falling backwards, her hand on her chest.

'But Padfoot, will they call us our names?' faux-gasped Mary, and she put her hands over her mouth.

''Course we will!' the twins chorused.

'Now, we'll be unstoppable!' sang Carina.

~CFB~

The boys were still in the common room after Carina and Mary had plotted their prank with the twins. Ron was trying to teach Harry chess.

'What are you two doing?' asked Carina, sitting at their table.

'I am trying to teach Harry wizard chess.' Said Ron, not looking at her.

'Wizard chess?' questioned Mary, sitting across her.

'It's just like Muggle chess, except the figures are alive.' Said Harry.

'Wow Harry, you suck at chess' said Carina, eyeing the board curiously.

He was losing spectacularly, with Ron having the most figures.

'Tell me something I don't know' said Harry, laughing as Ron took yet another figure.

'I want to play' said Carina, smiling knowingly at Mary.

Mary smirked at her. Carina was the undisputed champion at chess, and Mary had lost quite a lot of times as Carina helped her become better.

'Alright, I'll go easy on you' said Ron, setting up the chessboard.

Harry stood and she sat in his now-vacant seat.

'Sure you will' sang Carina, winking at him.

She watched Mary whisper into Harry's ear and Harry nodded at her.

The chessmen belonged to Seamus, and it seemed they didn't trust her at all. However much they didn't trust her, she made sure to make the best moves so they wouldn't question her. One of them even commented: 'Wow, I wish this girl was our owner; she's loads better than Seamus and the other boy'

She smiled when she cornered Ron into checkmate.

'No…no, no, NO! I haven't lost' said Ron, shaking his head.

Even his chessman was shaking his head at him.

'Face it Specks, you have lost to Padfoot, the greatest chess player in Gryffindor tower.' Said Carina, putting her hand on her chest dramatically.

'Checkmate' and Ron's king threw his crown to her queen's feet.

'Awww!' groaned Harry, reaching into his pockets.

He pulled out several Galleons. Mary smiled at him and stretched out her hands.

'Ah, the sweet smell of winning' said Mary, counting her money.

'You bet on her!' exclaimed Ron.

'Course I did; Ten Galleons. She's the best' said Mary, high-fiving Carina.

'If it makes you feel any better, Prongs bet on you' said Carina.

'And you lost!' said Harry, smacking his shoulder.

Ron smiled crookedly and began talking about Quidditch.

~CFB~

Christmas morning was very surprising. For one thing, Carina had presents, and quite a lot more than she was used to. A pile of them was at the foot of her bed. She went and shoved Mary off the bed so she could wake up.

'I really need to wake up by myself' groaned Mary, getting off the floor.

'PRESENTS!' screamed Carina.

'Do you want to go to the boy's dorm? We could open our presents together there.'

'That sounds nice' said Carina.

A snuffling on her side was asking Carina to notice him. Bombur had a present tied 'round his stomach.

'Aw that's so cute' gushed Carina.

'I got you something too, big boy, now let's go visit the boys.' Said Carina, petting his head.

She gathered her pile of presents and walked down the stairs—no easy feat, either—but Mary was helping too. The boys were still asleep. Carina let a slow, evil grin spread across her face. A similar one was on Mary's face.

'You thinking what I'm thinking?'

'You know it'

They dropped their presents and Carina ran to Harry's bed. Mary went to Ron's bed. She pulled out her wand and thought hard.

' _ **Levicorpus'**_

Harry flew up into the air, held up by his ankle. He let out a loud shout.

'WHAT THE—CARINA I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS'

Ron shouted a similar curse.

'WHAT THE BLOODY HELL—MARY!'

Carina couldn't hold it back any longer; she burst out laughing at Harry's expression. When she looked at Ron, she laughed even harder. Her hair was the most vibrant shade of red she'd ever seen.

'Oh m-my g-god. That was great!' gasped Mary.

Carina looked at them once more, a large grin on her face.

'I think it's time to let them down'

' _ **Liberacorpus'**_

Harry fell back on his bed, but Ron wasn't so lucky. He landed on his back, right on the hard stone floor.

'Ugh….' Groaned Ron.

'That's what happens when you oversleep on Christmas' said Mary.

'PRESENTS' shouted Ron, and he shot up from the floor.

'Wow, I've got presents?' said Harry incredulously.

'Um yeah, what did you expect, a bag of turnips?' said Mary.

Carina turned her attention to Bombur. He was sitting next to her scattered pile.

'You first buddy!'

Bombur stood and waddled towards her. The present was wrapped with red paper and tied with a green ribbon. It had a tag that had a paw print next to the From: _ part. Inside was a small black pearl.

 _ **Where did he get this from?!**_

'Here's yours buddy, and Carina pulled out a new collar. It was a white leather collar with gold plated tag, with Bombur's name on it. She tied it around his neck and he barked at her.

Carina focused on the rest of her presents. She opened the one from Hermione and was surprised. It was a large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. She received a rough whittling of Bombur from Hagrid, a box of Chocolate Frogs from Harry, and a couple of homemade fireworks and a note from Fred and George (let them lose in the Great Hall later).

'Oh no' groaned Ron, turning a bit pink.

'What?' questioned Harry.

'She's made you all a Weasley sweater.' Said Ron.

Carina opened a lumpy parcel she hadn't noticed before. It was a thick, hand-knitted sweater, in light gray and a large box of homemade fudge.

'Every year she makes us a sweater,' said Ron. 'And mine's always maroon'

She'd never had anything like this before. A mother making something for her, a stranger and an orphan. Carina felt like crying, and her eyes flickered green.

'Ron, your mom's so nice.' And she stood and gave him a tight hug.

'Why are you—'

'Just tell her I said thanks, please' said Carina, sniffling.

'Alright.'

'Me too.' Said Mary, her voice a low whisper.

Mary's sweater was green, like Harry's but hers was a lighter green, like a spring color. Carina sat on the floor next to Mary.

'You ok?'

'Yeah, thanks 'Rina' said Mary, wiping her nose.

'Here's your present.' Said Carina, handing her a small box.

It was a small silver charm bracelet, with a gold fang on it, to represent Leo.

'Wow, look at yours!' said Mary, handing her a black box.

Curious, she opened it. It was a golden charm bracelet; with a silver paw print charm.

'That's freaky' said Carina.

A loud shout from Harry disrupted their moment.

'It's an invisibility cloak!' said Ron, awe in his face. 'I'm sure it is—try it on!'

Harry threw a silver, fluid-like cloak around his shoulders and Ron gasped.

'It is! Look down!'

Carina looked down to where Harry's feet used to be. They were gone!

'There's a note!' said Ron.

Harry pulled off the cloak and grabbed the letter. Harry must have been confused at the note, because he read it over and over. Before Carina could ask what was up, the twins burst in.

'Merry Christmas!'

'Hey, look—you've all got a Weasley sweater, too!'

Fred and George were both wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, and the other a G.

'Your sweaters are better than ours, though' said Fred, examining Mary's sweater.

'Why aren't you wearing yours?!' George demanded. 'Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm.'

'I hate maroon,' Ron moaned as he pulled it over his head.

Carina pulled her gray one over her head. It was thick and warm, perfect for roaming the corridors comfortably.

'You don't have your letter on yours though, but we're not stupid, we know our names are Gred and Forge.'

'What's all this noise' said an irritable voice from the door.

Percy the Prefect was at the door. He had a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

'P for Prefect! Get it on, Percy; come on, we're all wearing ours.'

'I—don't—want—' said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

'And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either' said George. 'Christmas is a time for family.'

Carina laughed as they frog marched Percy from the room, arms pinned to his side by his sweater.

~CFB~

Carina had never ever seen such a Christmas dinner. Not even the large dinner at the orphanage was close to what Hogwarts Christmas dinner had. Hundreds of fat, roast turkeys; honey hams in thin slices; mountains of roast, mashed, and boiled potatoes; platters of sausages; huge bowls of buttered peas and corn, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce. There were also wizard crackers.

Apparently, the Muggles here would each pull on one end and there would be a hat and plastic toys inside. The wizards ones were nothing like that. Carina pulled one with Mary. She shrieked when a blast like a cannon went off and a cowboy hat flew out and wizard chessmen. Carina exchanged her hat for the new cowboy hat and put the chessmen in her robes pocket.

After the dinner, flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Carina watched in amusement as Hagrid got redder and redder as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, which, much to her surprise blushed.

Fred gave Mary and Carina a pointed look. Carina nodded and pulled out her fireworks. Since they were wet-start, she dipped them in her juice. They went everywhere, gold, red, pink, green, white, streaks of different animals rising high in the air. Large golden animals; a stag, a dog, a lion, and a Dalmatian, flew right in front of Snape.

His cold black eyes widened as they crashed into him. A bright red flash and the Hall's attention was turned to Professor Snape.

He was in a green pointy Christmas hat lined red, pointy ears, thigh-length bright green long-sleeved button-down shirt with red triangle linings, a brown belt and golden buckle 'round his waist, red striped tights, complete with pointed red shoes, which curled at the end.

Carina burst out in loud barking laughter. The entire hall was gaping at him, but soon joined her in her loud laughter. Snape went completely red, and Carina was sure steam was coming out of his ears. The twins were high-fiving Carina and Mary, who was on the floor clutching her stomach. Ron was so red with laughter; Carina couldn't immediately distinguish his hair from his face. Harry had his head down on the table, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Professor Dumbledore stood, a merry smile on his face.

'Now, now, hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas, now I bid you good afternoon, and may the pranksters who did this to Professor Snape have five points each, for a good bit of festive cheer and excellent magic.'

Carina never thought her eyes could go as wide as they did, when twenty rubies filled the Gryffindor hourglass. The Gryffindor table exploded in cheers as they all walked back to their dormitory. Even her fat little dog was barking happily. She finally was able to go outside and enjoy the snow.

'Now, we need to make teams.' Announced Fred.

'I call Carina, Mary, and Fred' said George.

'Aw' groaned Ron.

'So looks like the teams are: Fred, Carina, Mary, and George against Harry, Percy, and Ron.'

'But that's four against three' said Percy.

'But they have two girls' pointed out Ron.

'What's that supposed to mean, Ronald' said Carina, a menacing smile on her face and hair pitch black.

'Nothing, nothing' stammered Ron, looking at her fearfully.

'That's what I thought' said Carina, smirking at him.

'Now we get five minutes to build a fort, GO' roared Fred, pulling them towards a hill.

They were on the topside of the hill and the other team on the bottom. Luckily, they had claimed the top. Their fort was in a tall circle and had several windows, like a tower. The bottom team had made a dome shape, without any windows. Carina had already made snowballs, keeping them in shape with a cooling charm.

'READY, SET, GO!'

The twins went directly to the bottom teams fort, snowballs lined on their arms. They only managed to hit Percy, before they were hit from behind.

'I've been wounded!' cried George, falling on the ground.

'We've been hurt, don't come for us; Save yourselves!' yelled Fred, collapsing right next to George.

'Fred! George!' screamed Mary.

She was about to go pelt Harry and Ron with snowballs, had not Carina held her back.

'No what are you doing?!' hissed Carina.

'Going to get revenge?' questioned Mary.

'No, we are going to do it smart' said Carina, smirking.

'Ready?'

'Go hard or go home!' roared Carina, as she ran out of the fort, pelting anything that moved with a rock hard snowball. Mary was hiding nearby, behind one of the barricades they had made. She had taken Ron down, with four snowballs at once. She didn't know where Harry was though. She walked into their fort, carefully looking around. The twins were watching from the sidelines. Carina shrieked when Harry got him right on her head.

'Headshot' groaned Carina, as she fell on the snowy ground.

'Carina!' shrieked Mary, hitting Harry with a triple-shot.

'WE WON!' roared the twins going to pick up Mary and Carina. George put Carina right on his shoulders as they jumped and cheered. Little did they know Ron was forming more snowballs. He threw them directly at the twins. George set Carina on the ground as they grabbed more snow and restarted their furious snowball fight.

Cold, wet, and out of breath, Carina walked with her friends back to Gryffindor Tower. She helped Harry break in his new set of chessmen by beating him spectacularly to Ron. Maybe he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much. They all ate a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, and Christmas cake, and Carina felt so lethargic, she sat in a squashy armchair, petting Bombur, who had already fallen asleep. She watched Percy chase Fred and George all around the tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

~CFB~

Carina climbed into bed, groggily pulling her sheets up.

'Hey, Mary' called Carina.

'Yeah?' replied Mary.

'I love you, like a sister. You know that right?'

'Course I do, I love you, too'

'Thanks, I get how you feel too, about the sweaters.'

'Ron is so lucky'

'He is' sighed Carina, and she rested her green eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

 **A/N: Thoughts will now be in bold** _ **italics**_ **. Titles will also be in bold but handwriting will be regular** _italics._ **Her eyes become green during times of intense emotions, or overwhelming ones. Although intense anger is different depending on whom she's defending. In this chapter, however, green is for overwhelming happiness. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

CFB: Chapter 8

Carina was rather cross with Harry the next day, as he told them all about his nightly adventure to the Forbidden Section in the library. Apparently, he'd been running from Filch and Snape when he stumbled into a room with a mirror.

'My family was in the mirror!' Harry exclaimed.

'You could have woken us up!' said Ron, also a bit mad at him.

'You can come tonight, I'm going back, and I want to show you all the mirror'

'I'd like to see your mom and dad' said Mary.

'And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone.' Said Harry.

Carina felt a bit odd about the mirror.

 _ **Why would a random mirror just show his family?**_

 _ **Maybe it only shows dead people.**_

 _ **What if she could see her family?**_

She shook her head. It was no use getting her hopes up for nothing. Harry was acting pretty weird though; he wasn't eating anything.

'You really should eat something; that mirror sounds like a distraction. You didn't even tell us about Flamel!' said Mary.

'Are you alright?' said Ron. 'You look odd, Prongs'

The bad feeling did not go away as Harry continued to look lost in his mind, thinking hard about the mirror.

~CFB~

Later that day, Carina accompanied Harry, Ron, and Mary to find the mirror room. They had to walk really slowly though, as it was difficult to move around with the Invisibility Cloak. After about an hour, they were no were closer to finding the mirror room.

'I'm freezing' said Carina. 'Let's forget it and go back'

'No! I know its here somewhere!' hissed Harry.

'Well hurry up! Its bloody cold!' said Ron.

They wandered around for a bit more, when she spotted a suit of armor.

'It's here—just here—yes!' said Harry, pushing the door open.

Harry dropped the cloak and ran right up to the mirror.

 _ **I think that mirrors making him a bit crazy.**_

He was just looking at it with adoration. Carina observed the strange mirror. She noted a couple of odd letters etched in gold onto the ornate side. " _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."_

'Can you see them?' asked Harry.

'I can't see anything, except for you'

'Look at them! There are loads of them' said Harry.

'Prongs, we can only see you'

'Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am' and Harry moved out of the front of the mirror.

Ron looked transfixed at what he saw in the mirror.

'Look at me!' he exclaimed.

'It's just you' said Mary, a bit dubious.

'No—I'm alone—but I'm different—I look older—and I'm Head Boy! Quidditch Captain too! We've won the Cup!' Ron's mouth was wide open.

'What?' said Harry.

'Maybe it changes for everyone' said Mary.

'Let me see' said Carina.

Ron moved out of the front of the mirror and she went to stand in his previous position.

Carina looked in it, and watched bewilderedly as people stared back. There was a very pretty woman, with long, straight, crimson-red hair just like hers, except Carina's was wavy. She had emerald green eyes with a light dusting of freckles across her nose, and was next to a man. The man was exceptionally handsome with curly shoulder-length black hair and silvery gray eyes. Her eyes. He was taller than the woman and had her aristocratic facial structure. His lips, nose, and silver eyes were mirrored on her face. She herself was standing in the middle of both, her twin was smiling as the man and woman had her in a one-armed hug.

 _ **This must be her father! And if that's her father, then that woman must be her mother!**_

They were standing next to each other; her father had his arm around her twin's shoulders and then more people stood around them. Another man, this one looked extraordinarily like Harry, except with hazel eyes, stood next to her father. A beautiful woman looking just like her mother, except she had almond shaped eyes and curly red hair, stood next to her.

The last woman had chocolate colored wavy hair and peridot green eyes. The last man stood behind her father; a man with light brown hair and forest green eyes stood towering a couple inches over him. He was covered in scars and looked right at home next to both men. They were laughing and smiling at each other. Her mother was changing her hair a variety of colors and was laughing with the others.

 _ **These must be my parent's friends.**_

 _ **Padfoot and Chameel.**_

'Wow…' said Carina.

'What do you see?' asked Harry.

'My parents, and their friends'she whispered.

'I want to see them' said Mary.

'Ok,' and Carina's gaze was broken as she moved so Mary could see the mirror.

'I see them too!' exclaimed Mary, jumping slightly.

'My mom and dad, and their friends all around them, just laughing!'

'I want to see my parents now, move' said Harry, pushing Mary.

'Don't push her!' hissed Carina, moving to push Harry.

'Anyways, you had it to yourself last night, give me a bit more time' said Ron, pushing Harry.

A sudden noise outside of the corridor put an abrupt end to their argument. They hadn't realized how loudly they'd been talking.

'Quick!' hissed Harry.

He pulled the cloak over all of them. Mrs. Norris came round the door and Carina froze, along with Harry, Ron, and Mary. They waited for what seemed like forever and she finally turned and left.

'That was close' said Mary, slumping to the floor.

'Let's get back—she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us' said Carina, pulling them all to the door.

~CFB~

The sky was still a murky gray when Carina went to breakfast the next morning.

'Well that was a interesting trip' said Mary, mouth full of bacon.

'Yeah…' said Harry dazedly.

'You aren't still thinking about that mirror, are you?' said Ron.

'No…'

'Then why aren't you eating anything, or wanting to do anything?' said Carina.

'You shouldn't go back to that mirror.' Scolded Ron.

'Why not?' said Harry indignantly.

'I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it—and anyways, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they cant see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?' said Ron.

 _ **You tell him, Specks!**_

'You sound like Moony'

'And what's wrong with that? She just tries to keep us out of trouble' said Mary, looking at him with a frown.

'I'm serious, Prongs, don't go'

Carina took a long calculating look at Harry, and was sure he was going to ignore them completely.

~CFB~

Carina waited in the common room for a while after Harry and Ron had gone up. She had asked the twins for the map and was looking right where Harry's name was. Carina was sure that he would go back, with or without them. Loud footsteps echoed from the boy's dormitory. She moved behind a tapestry as Harry ran out, pulling his cloak over his head.

Carina waited a couple of seconds after he left the common room. She looked at the map where Filch's and Mrs. Norris were. Filch was on the fourth floor and Mrs. Norris was in the trophy room. Snape was in his office, which she had no intention of ever going to. Harry was speeding towards the library, where they had begun their search the night before.

She followed him carefully, but he was clearly not thinking about noise, as his loud footsteps echoed in the dreary corridors. She made it to the door, which was wide open. Harry was sitting right in front of the mirror. She crept in softly but froze when she heard an old and weary voice.

'So—back again, Harry, Carina?'

'Great' she muttered, whirling around to face none other, than Albus Dumbledore. Carina quickly stuffed the map in her pocket.

'—I didn't see you—you or Pad—Carina' said Harry, lowly.

'Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you' said Dumbledore, smiling at both of them.

'So,' said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit next to Harry, 'seems like both of you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised'

Dumbledore motioned for Carina to sit next to him. She complied warily, still unsure of being in trouble.

'I didn't know it was called that, sir' said Harry.

'But I expect you've realized by now what it does?' asked Dumbledore pointedly.

'It—well—it shows me my family—'

'And it showed your friend Ron as Head Boy, and Carina with her parents, and Mary with her parents as well' said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry.

'How did you know—?'

'I don't need a cloak to become invisible' said Dumbledore gently. 'Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?'

Harry shook his head. Carina thought hard.

 _ **Maybe it has something to do with those letters.**_ _ **Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. They were gibberish! Maybe you would need a mirror to decipher them? That made some kind of sense. No…they weren't upside down. Or maybe, they were backwards? Ishow—no—tyo-urfac—ebu—tyo—urhe—arts—desire—**_

'—I show not your face, but your hearts desire?' she muttered.

'Precisely' said Dumbledore, beaming at Carina.

'Let me explain,' said Dumbledore, looking at Harry's face. 'The happiest man on Earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into is and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?'

Harry slowly began nodding his head.

'You, who have never known your family, or the idea of one, see them standing around you. Carina, who has never known her parents, or any caring, friendly adult figure, sees them around her, with their friends. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men and women have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real, or even possible. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, Carina, and I ask you not to go looking for it again—obviously your friends are concerned about it—'He glanced at Carina. '—If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on with Carina and get off to bed.'

Carina stood up, Harry mirroring her actions. ( _ **A/N I'm so sorry, I had to put a pun**_ )

'What do you see when you look in the mirror?' asked Harry, pulling the cloak over his and her shoulders.

'I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks' said Dumbledore smiling down at them.

 _ **Really, socks? He's probably lying. It was a bit personal though…but we never know, I guess. Maybe he is insane.**_

'One can never have enough socks' said Dumbledore simply. 'Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.'

Dumbledore gave them one last smile and he walked out into the cold confining corridors.

'Thanks for trying to stop me' said Harry.

'No problem, but we are your friends; Maybe you should listen to us more often' Carina sang cockily.

'Merlin help us all' laughed Harry.

~CFB~

Luckily, Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go look for the Mirror of Erised and they didn't go on any more nightly adventures. But they were subject to Hermione's scolding as soon as she came back after holidays.

'If Filch had caught you!'

She was also slightly disappointed. Even after Hermione had come back from the holidays, they still couldn't find Nicolas Flamel anywhere. When they were close to giving up hope of ever finding him, Harry kept reassuring them he'd read about him somewhere. After term started, it became harder to search through books, and Carina had to resort to skim through them during their ten-minute breaks.

One exceptionally boring afternoon, Harry burst into the common room. Carina was lazily watching Hermione lose horribly to Ron, Chess was the only thing she ever lost at to him.

'Don't talk to me for a moment' said Ron after Harry sunk into the chair next to him. 'I need to concen—' he glanced at Harry for a moment.

'What's the matter with you? You look terrible.'

'Snape's going to be referring the next Quidditch match' said Harry lowly.

'Don't play' said Hermione at once.

'Say you're ill' said Ron.

'Pretend to break your leg' said Mary.

'Really break your leg' said Carina.

'I can't' said Harry. 'There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all.'

Suddenly, Neville toppled into the common room. His legs had been stuck together with what she recognized as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must've had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. Everyone fell over laughing except Carina, Mary, and Hermione. Carina's hair turned pitch black, eyes endless black holes lined red. This made the boys stop laughing and look at her fearfully. Hermione jumped up and performed the counter curse.

 _ **I am going to kill who ever did this to Neville.**_

'What happened?' asked Mary, who looked as angry as Carina did.

Neville went to sit with them, and he shakily replied 'Malfoy. I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on'

Carina's fists clenched to her sides. Mary wasn't looking much better at hiding her rage.

 _ **Malfoy is not going to leave the Hospital Wing in weeks.**_

'Go to Professor McGonagall!' urged Hermione. 'Report him!'

'I don't want more trouble' he mumbled.

'You've got to stand up to him, Neville!' said Ron. 'He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier'

Mary smacked him upside the head, but it was too late.

'There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that' Neville choked out.

Carina felt like strangling Malfoy.

 _ **How dare he make Neville feel like this!**_

Harry pulled a Chocolate Frog out of his pocket. He handed it to Neville, who looked like he was about to cry.

'You're worth twelve of Malfoy' said Harry. 'The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin'

Carina smiled as Neville's lips quirked into a small, crooked smile.

'Thanks, Harry…I think I'll go to bed…D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?'

Harry smiled at him as he walked away. He looked down at the Famous Wizard card.

'Dumbledore again, He was the first one I ever—' Harry gasped as he gaped at the card.

'What, did you get a rare Pokémon?' joked Carina, smirking at his surprised face.

Hermione and Mary laughed, understanding the reference, but Ron looked at them with an odd expression.

'Pokémon?'

'I've found him!' Harry whispered. 'I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here—listen to this: "Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!'

Hermione jumped to her feet. She looked as excited as she had when they got the grades from their very first piece of homework.

'Stay there!' and Hermione ran up to the girl's dormitories. Carina's eyebrows rose high and they all barely had a second to exchange mystified looks before Hermione came dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.

'I never thought to look in here!' she said excitedly. 'I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading.'

'Light?!' said Mary and Ron together.

Hermione shushed them and started flipping through the pages frantically. She stopped and started jumping around.

'I knew it! I knew it!'

'Can we talk now?' said Ron grumpily.

'Nicolas Flamel—' she whispered dramatically. '—Is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!'

 _ **The Sorcerer's Stone! I didn't know that actually existed!**_

Carina and Mary's eyebrows rose high in the air, but the boys looked quite flabbergasted.

'The what?!'

'Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look—read that, there' Hermione pushed the book towards them.

Carina watched in slight amusement as the boys soon had the same expressions as them.

'See?!' said Hermione. 'The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!'

'A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!' said Harry. 'No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it.'

'And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry,' said Ron. 'He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?'

 _ **Snape wouldn't steal the Stone…would he?**_

~CFB~

The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Carina was arguing about what she'd do if she had a Sorcerer's Stone with Harry and Ron. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that she remembered about Snape and the incoming match.

'I'm going to play' said Harry, after a comfortable silence. 'If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them…it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win.'

'Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field' said Mary.

Carina glared at Mary; she wasn't really helping matters.

As the match drew nearer, it became obvious to Carina that Harry was extremely nervous about the match. He couldn't even help plan revenge on Malfoy for what he did to Neville without becoming distracted.

'Snap out of it, Prongs, we've got to get back at Malfoy' said Mary.

Carina had been combing the Prankbook for their next prank. Let's just say it involved some difficult Transfiguration and several Charms. Even Hermione had reluctantly agreed on payback.

'The incantation for you is _Anteoculatia'_ said Carina, nodding at Harry.

'Remember, it's a quick wave' said Mary.

'Leo, yours is _Crinnileo_ and don't forget, the movement is the same as Prongs' said Carina.

'Specks, yours is _Maculus Cutem_ and the wand movement is swish and flick' said Hermione.

'Moony, yours is _Aurilupumus_ and it's a sharp jab.' Said Mary.

'Padfoot, yours is _Capite Canem_ ' said Harry.

'I've got this,' Carina winked. 'I did it before, didn't I?'

'Yeah, but not with all of us doing it too!' exclaimed Ron, waving his hands around.

 _ **Plus an assisting hand with the Twins…**_

'We've got the Marauders, when have they ever let us down?' said Mary, pointing at **How-to Jinx/Hex Someone Secretly.**

'Now, we've got to do this right,' said Carina, looking at all of them. 'This has to happen right when we've got him in front of the entire school'

'The time when almost the entire school is together is when we go eat. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.' Said Hermione smartly.

'I think during Dinner' said Mary. 'Then we've got the revenge or satisfaction for the Quidditch match—' she looked at Harry's face. '—Sorry, Prongs'

'That sounds good—then we can eat and then humiliate Malfoy' nodded Ron.

 _ **I swear that boy only thinks with his stomach.**_

'It's a plan then' said Carina, smiling evilly.

~CFB~

The day of the Quidditch match was a cool and sunny day; uncharacteristic of the way Carina was feeling about Snape referring the match. She, Mary, Ron, and Hermione had found seats in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim.

'I've never seen Snape look so mean—' Ron glanced at Carina. '—Well mean when Padfoot's not around.'

Carina glared at him and was about to make a snarky remark until—

'Dumbledore's come to watch!' exclaimed Mary, jumping out of her seat.

'Snape wouldn't dare try anything with him here!' laughed Carina, relief flooding her.

'Look they're off—Ouch!' Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head.

Carina turned quickly to see Malfoy and his goons. Her hair went black as night while her eyes glittered stormy gray.

'Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there' sneered Malfoy.

'Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?'

'Do you like being humiliated?' snapped Mary.

Ron hadn't even replied; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at him.

Still, Malfoy didn't know when to stop. 'You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?' Malfoy drawled loudly. 'It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money—you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains'

 _ **Deep breaths, deep breaths…**_

Carina watched stormily as Neville turned bright red, but turned to face Malfoy.

'I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy' he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not looking at them, said 'You tell him, Neville'

'Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something.'

'One more word, Malfoy, and you'll be wanting to become part dog again' snarled Carina.

'Guys!' said Hermione suddenly. 'Harry—'

'What, where?'

Carina turned her attention to the game. Harry had gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.

It seemed nothing could draw her attention from the game, until— 'You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!' Malfoy laughed.

Carina saw red, as Ron dived on Malfoy and Neville reluctantly joined in. She didn't hesitate to jump right in either; Ron was facing Malfoy and Neville was facing Crabbe and Goyle. Mary joined in helping Neville. Her small fists pummeled every part of Malfoy she could reach, and Ron was doing pretty well too. They sprang apart as the crowd suddenly burst out in cheers; Malfoy had two black eyes blooming spectacularly on his face with a fat lip and Ron had a nosebleed. Carina was relatively fine, except for a couple of bruises on her knuckles. Mary looked as fine as Carina was, but Neville was out cold.

Malfoy pushed himself off the ground, glared at all of them, and walked off to the Slytherin stands. Crabbe and Goyle looking a bit worst for wear; bruises were prominent on their cheeks.

 _ **This isn't over, Ferret.**_

' _Anserrus_!' hissed Carina, waving her rowan wand right at Malfoy's back.

A bright red light flew out of the tip and hit Malfoy. He stopped suddenly, and a loud honking noise sounded from him. Crabbe and Goyle were at a loss of what to do, as they turned and backed away reluctantly. Malfoy kept trying to talk, but a barely restrained honk like a goose came out instead.

Ron, upon noticing this, burst out in laughter. He nudged Mary, who in turn, also began laughing loudly. People were beginning to look at what was making them laugh so loudly. Malfoy turned a furious shade of red and was the first one into the castle. Carina's hair turned back to red and she smiled evilly at his retreating form.

 _ **Just wait until later…**_

Hermione was jumping up and down, and she ran to hug Carina so tightly, she almost fell back onto the grass.

'We've won! We've won!'

~CFB~

'Prongs, where've you been!' Mary squeaked.

'We won! You won! We won!' shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. 'And Padfoot and I gave Malfoy two black eyes, and Neville and Leo took on Crabbe and Goyle! He's still out cold, but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right—talk about showing Slytherin! Let's go to dinner! Fred and George said they had something special to add to our great revenge!

'Never mind that now' said Harry breathlessly. 'Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this…'

He rushed them into a small empty room.

'I overheard Snape and Quirrell arguing in the Forbidden Forest. I followed them after the match, cause Snape looked a bit suspicious. He was arguing with Quirrell; something about watching where his loyalties lie. He even asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy. I'm pretty sure we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it.' Harry stopped and made a thoughtful expression. 'He also said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus—I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell ought to have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through—'

'So you're saying that the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?' interrupted Hermione in alarm.

'Wow…' murmured Carina.

 _ **This certainly brings a new light to this mystery. Snape might be after the Stone after all…**_

'It'll be gone by next Tuesday' said Ron.

~CFB~

Dinner that evening was rather stressful. Hermione's eyes kept darting around, and Ron wouldn't stop tapping his feet.

'Would you both calm down?' sighed Mary.

'Yeah, acting suspicious only brings more suspicion' added Carina.

'See, Prongs isn't even worrying; that chicken doesn't stand a chance' said Mary, pointing at Harry's half-finished plate.

'Actually, I'm too busy worrying about Quirrell' said Harry, looking at them with a lofty expression.

Carina ignored him and began looking around.

'This has to happen right when everyone gets up to leave; Malfoy's always the first to leave the Slytherin table.' said Carina lowly.

'We're ready' said Ron.

They waited a bit anxiously for the last of the desserts to fade from the shimmering plates. At once, the students began shifting out of their seats to leave.

'Now!' hissed Carina.

More hissed whispers followed as Carina stood with her fellow Gryffindors, blending into the crowd. Malfoy had been hit by Harry's hex first; large glistening antlers began sprouting almost like a plant, on his head. They made his head lag a bit. The crowd stopped and watched with amusement as Ron's followed soon after, bright miniscule neon colored spots appeared all over Malfoy, each shining in the warm candlelight painfully. Jeers soon replaced whispers, and then Mary's spell hit. A long golden mane of a lion sprouted at his forehead, flowing down the back of his head gracefully. Hermione's turn. Large gray wolf ears replaced his ears, and they twitched with irritation at the noise the crowd was making. Her turn.

' _Capite Canem'_

A red light shot out of the end of her wand and hit Malfoy. Like before, a long golden tail tore through his pants and his hands and feet turned to dog paws. Curiously though, this time, Malfoy started chasing his own tail on all four paws. Loud laughter from the crowd echoed in throughout the stone hall. Finishing off the show, the twins came through. Malfoy's legs locked together; the Leg-Locker Curse, and he was hoisted up in the air, seemingly by his ankle.

A satisfied smirk graced Carina's lips. Maybe now he will know the humiliation he has caused others, namely Neville. The screeches of mirth were still going on as Professor McGonagall fought her way to the center; a ring had been formed around Malfoy when Harry's spell hit. Her face was pale white, and lips thinner than she'd ever seen them go.

'All of you will return to your dormitories.' Said Professor McGonagall, with a calm voice, but it didn't fool Carina. She was trembling with rage.

Carina found her friends and was about to follow her fellow Gryffindors out of the hall until…

'Except you five'

Carina groaned inwardly and turned to face the music. Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Dumbledore stood in front of them. The twins had already been fished out of the crowd and were standing awkwardly next to them.

'Were any of you responsible for what happened to Mr. Malfoy?' asked Dumbledore quietly.

His sky blue eyes were twinkling madly with mirth, but a seemingly disappointed expression marred his face.

'No.' said all of them at once.

Carina turned curiously to them. They were all looking at each other with surprised faces. She couldn't let them get in trouble for what she had mostly planned. Carina's eyes turned green like emeralds and her hair went curly. She peered back innocently. Curiously enough, Snape seemed the most perturbed; he froze in place, black eyes widening comically. Her doe eyes might just save them all from a certain fate of a loss of House points and detention.

Carina sniffled slightly as she looked up tearfully.

'Why would you accuse us of doing that to M-M-Malfoy?' she sniffled for dramatic effect. 'That was a really mean thing to do…you really think we are that cruel?' A lone tear went down her cheek. 'Cause, I don't wanna be labeled as a mean person!' More tears followed the first and she took long gasps. 'Why would you blame us, that's, that's—' she wiped her nose. '—That's horrible.' She turned and sobbed into Harry's side.

He looked rather disturbed as he peered down at her, but she winked sneakily at him. His eyes widened even more, if that was possible. Snape's nostrils flared as she wrapped her arms around him.

'Ms. Ev—Black, why don't we go—' began Professor Dumbledore gently, but was cut off by Mary.

She dissolved into loud tears and buried her face into a bewildered Fred Weasley's side. She wrapped her arms around him, and a red flush began blooming over his face. Muffled sobs sounded from Mary and the Professors looked as awkward as Fred did.

'We aren't horrible…are we?' simpered Mary, tearfully moving her face from Fred's side.

'No, no, of course not—' began Professor McGonagall.

'—Then why would you blame us?!' cried Carina, voice muffled from Harry's robes.

'It's alright, Ms. Black, we aren't accusing you of anything—' squeaked Professor Flitwick.

'Then we're free to go?' questioned Ron loudly.

'I-I-I suppose so?' said Professor McGonagall, as if questioning her own authority.

Loud hiccups and wet sniffles were still heard from Carina and Mary as they all awkwardly walked away into the glorious sunset from the very confused Professors.

 **A/N: I am deeply sorry about my inability to not put puns but you gotta admit, it was great. Also, I am aware Pokémon cards originally came out in 1996, but just for the story's sake, lets just say they came out earlier ;). Carina sees her parents for the first time and also some other familiar people. Wonder who Snape and Dumbledore were remembering though…*cough*** **cough** *** Evans *cough*** **cough** *** Every chapter will now be 5000 words at the very least, and see y'all next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Dragon Tales

Carina wiped the fake tears from her face as soon as they were out of eyeshot. She wrenched herself out of Harry's still shocked tight grip and made her features normal once more.

'So, how was that for getting us out of a sticky situation' Carina smirked arrogantly at their awestruck faces.

Mary pried out of a blushing Fred's embrace and put her arm around Carina's shoulders.

'Seems like great minds think alike' Mary winked at her.

'You—' said Hermione.

'Two—' said Ron.

'Are—' said Harry.

'Bloody—' said George.

'—Terrifying.' finished Fred.

Carina put her most innocent pout on her face.

'That's not the worst we can do' she winked at them.

They all looked shell-shocked, probably because they narrowly missed being skinned alive by McGonagall, but she wouldn't put it behind them to be shocked at her behavior, either.

'That'll keep Malfoy from getting Neville; a reminder should do it' said Mary.

'Malfoy, the magnificent beast, not even a hippogriff could compare' said George laughing loudly.

They all walked back to the Common Room, Hermione still in deep shock about being almost-in trouble.

~CFB~

Quirrell, however, must've been braver than they'd thought; Carina owed Mary five Galleons. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look like he'd cracked yet.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Carina, Mary, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which meant that the Stone was still safe. Curiously though, the boys seemed to think reassuring smiles towards him actually helped; Carina thought he wasn't so innocent as he seemed.

Malfoy stayed in the Hospital Wing for about two weeks; indeed, many students congratulated them about getting off scot-free, especially from McGonagall. That didn't mean that she hadn't suspected them either; one class afterwards was enough.

McGonagall had her eye on them the entire lesson, and she still kept a sharp demeanor in class. Snape however, completely ignored her; Carina even threw a firecracker in Goyle's cauldron one class period in plain sight and Snape simply sent him off to the Hospital Wing without her losing any points.

Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Carina certainly wouldn't have minded at all, but Hermione kept nagging them to do the same.

'Moony, the exams are ages away.'

'Ten weeks' Hermione snapped. 'That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel.'

'But we're not six hundred years old' Ron reminded her. 'Anyways, what are you studying for, you already know it all.'

'What am I studying for?! Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…'

Carina was draped across a plushy armchair. Bombur was on her lap and was snoring loudly. He was a pretty good book rest. The library had lots of Muggle books. She was currently reading "Great Expectations" and Hermione was being really annoying. Lessons were pretty easy for her and she really didn't have to study to pass her exams. Carina had aced every test they'd given her so far without studying at all, and she wasn't going to start now.

'Moony?' sighed Carina.

'Yes?' snapped Hermione.

'Can you do us a favor?' said Mary, who was in the opposite armchair.

'Shut up.' Finished Carina.

Hermione did shut up, but not peacefully. She slammed her book on the table next to them, making Bombur jump up from his nap. Carina glared at her briefly and went back to her book.

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Indeed, Carina barely had enough time to plan pranks; the twins often mocked them for being dragged along with Hermione to the library. Moaning and yawning, Carina, Ron, Mary, and Harry spent most of their free time with her, trying to get through all their extra work.

Carina decided to do the most important ones first. Right off the bat, she decided she wasn't going to do Binns'; he just gave everyone an Acceptable last time, even Ron, who didn't even turn in the assignment. Flitwick's was a foot-long essay on the wand movements of several Charms they'd been learning the past couple of weeks.

His class was the next day, so she decided to work on his, rather than McGonagall's slightly longer essay on the history of Transfiguration. She was interrupted as she was dotting an "i" when—

'I'll never remember this,' Ron burst out, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. Carina glanced outside too, almost dreamily. The sky was a clear forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling of summer in the air. Carina snapped out of it and shot a death glare at Ron; she had almost torn her paper in half when he interrupted and she was not happy to see the outside taunting her. He settled down at once, glancing slightly at her beautifully written essay.

It was perfect. Twelve inches of neat rows of cursive black letters. It was written in rather large letters, but who was going to check when you assign things in length, not words. Sadly, Carina's hand was covered with black ink; left-handed people had a real struggle. She had to resort to quick-drying ink; her first assignments had been smudged so horribly, Hermione had ordered some for her. It still smudged, but very slightly, like a pencil smudge.

Carina was torn from her ponderings of left-handed people solutions when she heard Ron exclaim once more.

'Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?'

Carina turned so quick; she almost fell out of her chair. Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

'Jus' lookin' he said, in a shifty voice Carina knew anywhere. It peeked her interest at once. 'An' what're you lot up ter?' He suddenly looked suspicious. 'Yer still not lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?'

'Oh, we found out who he is ages ago' said Ron impressively. 'And we know what that dog's guarding too, it's a Sorcerer's St—'

'Shhhhhh' Hagrid quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening. 'Don' go shoutin' about it, what's that matter with yeh?'

'There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact,' said Harry smartly, 'about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy—'

'SHHHHHH!' said Hagrid loudly.

'Listen—Come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposted ter know. They'll think I've told yeh—'

'See you later, then' said Harry, cutting him off.

Hagrid shuffled off.

'Wonder what he was holding behind his back?' said Mary thoughtfully.

'Do y'all think it had anything to do with the Stone?' questioned Carina.

'I'm going to see what section he was in' said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

'Dragons!' he croaked. 'Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide.'

'Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him' said Harry.

'But it's against our laws' said Ron. 'Dragon breeding was outlawed in the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden—anyways, you cant tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania.'

'But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?' said Harry.

'Of course there are,' said Ron. 'Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind has to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget.'

'How is it that you can remember this, but can't remember what "Dittany" is or does?' questioned Mary.

Carina noted Harry quickly closing up "1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi", a blush very prominent.

 _ **He and Ron are the exact same when it comes to remembering things.**_

She gave a small laugh at his still-pink face and turned to Hermione.

'So what on Earth's Hagrid up to?' said Hermione, saving them from a red-eared Ron's answer.

~CFB~

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called 'Who is it?' before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It was boiling hot inside. Even though it was a nice, fresh day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused. Hagrid made the most interesting tea; it was strong and tasted slightly earthy. Carina suspected he grew the herbs himself. She liked it completely black, but Mary liked it sweet and creamy. Carina shuddered at the thought of the overwhelming sweetness with milk and sugar.

'So—yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?'

'Yes,' said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush, then.

'We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy.'

Hagrid frowned at him.

'Course I can't,' he said. 'Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts—I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy.'

'Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here' said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.

Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. Carina smirked at Hermione's honeyed words. Seems like they were rubbing off on her in a useful way.

'We only wondered who had done the guarding, really.' Hermione went on. 'We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you.'

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Carina, Ron, Mary, and Harry exchanged mischievous smiles at Hermione.

'Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—'

He ticked them off on his fingers.

'—Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on…I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape.'

'Snape?'

'Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it.'

 _ **I knew it! But if Snape knew about the other teacher's protections, wouldn't it be easier to steal the Stone? Hm… Maybe he's been looking to how to get past Fluffy then, if he knew how the other teachers had guarded it…**_

Carina glanced around, and by the pensive looks on their faces, she was certain they were thinking the same as she was.

Harry spoke up after an awkward silence.

'You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy…Aren't you, Hagrid?' said Harry anxiously. 'And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?'

'Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore' said Hagrid proudly.

'Well, that's something' Harry muttered lowly.

Carina smacked him on the arm. He turned, surprised at her.

'Don't insult him!' Carina hissed, so that Hagrid wouldn't hear.

'Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm melting' moaned Ron.

'Can't, sorry.' Said Hagrid.

Carina noticed him throw a furtive glance at the fire. She curiously leaned closer to see. In the midst of the roaring blaze, was a huge, coal-black egg.

'Hagrid—what's that?' asked Mary timidly.

'Ah' said Hagrid, nervously twiddling his beard. 'That's er—'

Carina noted he tended to grab his hair when he got nervous or anxious.

'Where did you get it, Hagrid?' said Ron wondrously. He moved closer to look at the egg. 'It must've cost you a fortune.'

'Won it,' said Hagrid. 'Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest.'

'But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?' said Hermione.

'Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. 'Got this outta the library—Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit—it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here—how ter recognize diff'rent eggs—what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them are'

He looked very pleased with himself. Carina though, found a small issue with this.

'Hagrid, you live in a wooden house' she said.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire, flames dancing behind his large shadow.

~CFB~

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

'Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life,' Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. No time for pranks, and the twins had to make up for their lack of time. At least they had Slytherins getting humiliated in the halls though.

Hermione was now making study schedules for all of them. Carina just threw them in the fire at night after Hermione fell asleep. As long as she didn't notice Carina wasn't using study schedules, she was fine. Carina even perfected her ability to tune out Hermione during her long-winded speeches. Mary and the boys were going nuts with her badgering and more than once they asked her how she was getting through all of Hermione's school-related rants.

'That, my dear friends, is a carefully hidden secret' she said sarcastically.

'What do you mean?!'

Her only response to that was a cocky smirk.

Then, one breakfast time, a familiar owl brought Harry another note. It was from Hagrid. He had written only two words:

" _It's hatching."_

Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione, however, had no such inclinations.

'Moony, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?'

'We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—'

'Shut up!' hissed Harry.

Carina turned warily, but it was only Malfoy. He was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard, though? He had a rather knowing look on his face, but Carina wasn't going to say that.

'What are you looking at, huh?' said Carina threateningly, hair already black.

'Not at you, you flatter yourself too much' Malfoy drawled with a smirk.

'How would you know anything about beauty? You **actually** go out in public with that hair. Looks like you drenched yourself with hair gel. Talk about a fashion catastrophe' She retorted with stormy gray eyes and an arrogant smirk.

Mary and Harry, who were right next to her, burst out laughing. Hermione and Ron didn't listen; they were still arguing. Malfoy turned pink and stormed off to his next class, his platinum blond hair slicked back as usual. Carina turned and walked to Herbology with her friends. Ron and Hermione were still arguing the entire way there, and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's during morning break. The bell ringing from the castle at the end of the lesson was a godsend; Herbology was probably her worst subject. Carina dropped her trowel at once with the others, and they raced across the grounds to Hagrid's hut.

Knocking once, Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

'It's nearly out' He ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. Deep cracks lined the onyx stone. The dragon was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was emanating from it. They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. It reminded Carina of an umbrella. A slimy, crumpled umbrella with a long snout, wide nostrils, and small stubs of horns. Its bulging, orange eyes looked at them warily. It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

'Isn't he beautiful?' cooed Hagrid.

Carina could see what he was talking about. Once you got past the umbrella part, it was pretty cute. It looked glossy and rough at the same time. Carina reached out to pet its head. She ignored her friend's shrieks of terror as the dragon sniffed her hand curiously. It allowed her to touch it, and it nuzzled against her hand lovingly. It felt like a fish, scaly and rough, but warm to the touch.

'Hey, he likes you!' said Hagrid, smiling at Carina.

Hagrid moved to stroke the dragon's head too. It snapped at his fingers, its fangs narrowly missing them. He moved back to Carina's palm, moving it's scaly head across her palm.

'Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!' exclaimed Hagrid, probably talking about himself.

Carina looked at her friend's faces. Ron was a bit green, but his awestruck face said otherwise. Harry was looking at the dragon with wide eyes. Mary was glancing back and forward from Carina's hand to the dragon. Hermione was looking at the dragon too, but with calculating eyes.

'Hagrid' said Hermione slowly. 'How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?'

Hagrid was about to answer, when the color drained from his face. He leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

'What's the matter?' asked Carina worriedly; the dragon was now in her arms, eyes closed, and purring contently.

'Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains—it's a kid—he's runnin' back up ter the school'

Harry shot to his feet and ran to the door. He looked out quickly. A soft word escaped from his lips.

'Malfoy'

~CFB~

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made her stomach twist in circles. Carina spent most of her time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

'Just let him go' Harry urged. 'Set him free.'

'I can't' said Hagrid. 'He's too little. He'd die'

Carina silently agreed with Hagrid. There was no telling if there were dragons in the Forbidden Forest and he was still barely a week old. It had grown three times in length and smoke was constantly furling out of its nostrils, but she had seen pictures of fully-grown dragons, and they were huge. The dragon still loved Carina and often let her scratch its belly. It reminded her of Bombur, except the dragon had wings and teeth that could kill someone.

'I've decided to call him Norbert' said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. 'He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?' The dragon nudged Carina, but Hagrid kept trying to get its attention.

'Hagrid' said Harry loudly. 'Give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment.'

Harry was playing lowball now. Guilt-tripping Hagrid to get rid of the dragon. It may love her the most, but that didn't mean she felt good about sending it away.

Hagrid bit his lip.

'I—I know I cant keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't'

Carina sadly watched as Harry whirled around quickly. He was facing Ron now.

'Charlie!' he exclaimed.

'You're losing it too, I'm Spe—Ron, remember?' said Ron.

'No—Charlie—your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!'

'Brilliant!' said Ron. 'How about it, Hagrid?'

In the end, Carina and Hagrid eventually agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie and ask him to take the dragon.

~CFB~

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Carina, Hermione, Mary, and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight, when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

'It bit me!' he yelled, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief.

'I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me, he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby.' Ron snapped.

'You probably did frighten him; I don't scare him and Norbert loves me' said Carina matter-of-factly.

'I swear, you and Hagrid are mad' replied Ron, glaring at her.

A tap on the window interrupted her and Mary's scathing remarks.

'It's Hedwig!' said Harry, hurrying to let her in. 'She'll have Charlie's answer!'

They put their heads together in a misshapen circle to read the note.

" _Dear Ron,_

 _How are you? Thanks for the letter—I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

 _Could you get the Ridgeback up at the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

 _Send me an answer as soon as possible._

 _Love,_

 _Charlie."_

They looked at one another.

'We've got the invisibility cloak' said Harry. 'It shouldn't be too difficult—I think the cloaks big enough to cover two of us and Norbert'

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been for them when they all—reluctantly Carina—agreed with him.

There was a small problem though. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. Honestly, the sight of the thing was disgusting and Carina had forced him to go to the Hospital Wing, when the cut turned a nasty shade of green that afternoon. It seemed that Norbert's fangs were poisonous.

Carina worried all day though; her hair never changed from strawberry-blonde until they went to see him later. He was in a terrible state in bed.

'It's not just my hand' he whispered. 'Although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me—I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me—I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this.'

'I bet he's only doing this cause he has nothing better to do than be an annoying idiot' muttered Carina.

Ron smiled a bit at this, but Hermione's attempt at calming him down didn't help much.

'It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday' said Hermione soothingly.

On the contrary, Ron bolted upright and broke into a sweat.

'Midnight on Saturday!' he said with a croak. 'Oh no, oh no—I've just remembered—Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert.'

They didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.

'It's too late to change the plan now' Harry said urgently. 'We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that.'

Carina found herself nodding at his words.

~CFB~

Carina, Hermione, Mary, and Harry found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail. He was next to Bombur, who was curiously sniffing his bandage. Carina smiled at her black dog and knocked on Hagrid's door. A rusty-sounding creak sounded as Hagrid opened a window to talk to them.

'I won't let you in' he puffed. 'Norbert's at a tricky stage—nothin' I can't handle.'

When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might've been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

'Aargh! It's all righ', he only got my boot—jus' playin'—he's only a baby, after all.'

The baby banged its tail on the wall, making Carina jump back as the windows rattled.

They walked back, Carina dreading the day Norbert had to leave. Hermione had the brilliant idea to draw slips on who would go to deliver Norbert at the tower.

It was just her luck to be going down the stairs on Saturday with Harry, who was just as lucky as she was. It was a dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the Entrance Hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

'He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey' said Hagrid in a muffled voice. 'An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely and your gift too, Carina'

Her gift was a large stuffed pug that she had shown him when he was still small. Norbert loved the thing and handled it with delicacy. She'd given it to Hagrid in a cardboard box; she didn't want it getting damaged. Loud ripping noises were heard from the crate, so Hagrid's teddy must've been getting ripped apart in there.

'Bye-bye, Norbert!' Hagrid sobbed, as Carina and Harry covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. 'Mommy will never forget you!'

 _ **To be honest, I thought I was mommy. But I'll miss him too, I guess.**_

How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved a very heavy Norbert up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall and along the dark dreary corridors. Up another staircase, then another—her arms were going to fall off—even one of the shortcuts they'd learned didn't make the work much easier. Carina certainly didn't remember Hogwarts being so big, but maybe it was different in the dark.

'Nearly there!' Harry panted quietly as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then sudden movements ahead of them nearly made Carina jump and drop the crate in surprise. Forgetting they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A bright yellow lamp flared in the overbearing darkness.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.

'Detention!' she bellowed. 'And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you—'

'You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming—he's got a dragon!' Carina gasped softly before remembering they couldn't see her.

'What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!' McGonagall snarled in her Scottish accent, as she dragged him away, the lamplight forming mysterious shadows in the darkness.

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breath after a stifling weight had been dropped.

Carina started jumping around, hands flying in all directions.

'Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!'

Harry chuckled at her antics. 'Don't' he advised.

They waited in a comfortable silence, Norbert being soothed by Carina's soft humming. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down from the unwavering darkness.

Charlie's friends were cheery, and that reassured Carina about letting Norbert go with them. They showed them the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Carina and Harry shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

'I wouldn't take away his pug; Norbert will snap at you' advised Carina.

One of them, a tall broad-shouldered man with dark hair, looked at her oddly. She shrugged at him, and watched as they all steadily rose into the air. Norbert was going…going…gone.

Carina felt like crying, but that wasn't going to bring Norbert back. She sucked it up, and bounded down the spiral staircase, hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon worries—Malfoy in detention—what could spoil their happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's leering face loomed suddenly out of the blinding darkness.

'Well, well, well' Filch croaked with barely contained joy. 'We are in trouble, aren't we?'

They left the damn invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

'Fucking hell!'

 **A/N: I don't know why, but I wanted Carina to be like Hagrid; thinks ferocious animals are cute. I also kind of want an outrageous reason why they were up in the tower so they could either:**

 **1] Get out of trouble in a completely absurd way.**

 **2] Get in trouble but have an funny reason why.**

 **3] Have Neville not be caught as well, cause Hermione and Mary were in Gryffindor tower too and could have stopped him.**

 **4] Have all of them get into trouble with McGonagall, including Hermione, Mary, and Neville. Thanks for reading and see y'all next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Forbidden Forest

No sooner than those words were uttered, that Filch grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens. Harry seemed to have an inner debate with himself as Filch dragged them to the First Floor, where certain death by McGonagall awaited. Carina wasn't sure what he was planning, but it sure did peak her curiosity. Suddenly, Harry stomped on the caretaker's foot. Hard. Bones cracked, a loud groan sounded, and Harry shoved Carina out of Filch's grasp.

She fell with a dull thud on the stone floor. Filch was still grasping his foot in pain, while Harry was giving her a pointed look to run.

 _ **I can't just leave him here, with Filch of all people! He'll be expelled for sure!**_

Carina shot him a sharp glare, which he returned just as strong, if not even fiercer. He too, had been released from Filch's grip when he smashed on Filch's foot. Carina got to her feet quickly, not wanting to get in even more trouble than they already were in. Harry shoved her—very hard—towards the dark, dreary corridors upstairs. Reluctantly, a black-haired Carina began running up to Gryffindor Tower.

They had been on the Fourth Floor, when Harry's diversion occurred. Carina ran fast as she could—until she came into contact with a soft, squishy object on the Sixth Floor. Dazed, Carina looked up to see Neville, of all people.

'What are you doing?!' she hissed, jumping off the ground.

'I went to try and warn you! I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—' exclaimed a clearly terrified Neville.

'Shh!'

Carina looked around quickly. A faint scuffling was heard from the end of the corridor they were in. A quick flash of yellow, and Carina shoved Neville into the darker shadows of the night. They were pressed against the wall—Neville breathing hard looking quite terrified and Carina silent and suspicious.

As if her body knew she was trying to be stealthy, Carina felt a tremor wrack through her body. It was like something cold was rippling up and down her spine.

She had no time to investigate, as the blinding yellow light drew nearer and nearer. Her eyes, accustomed to the darkness, had trouble identifying the late-night roamer. Carina heard a faint mumbling—like someone saying something under their breath. Gathering a bit of courage, she peeked out to see the mysterious newcomer. No sooner than Carina caught a flash of her least favorite person right now—Professor McGonagall. She didn't have Malfoy in toll, so she probably just came back from Snape's office.

'How dare him…in the night…could have gotten in danger…' hissed McGonagall, tartan robes billowing in the faint lamplight.

She was getting harder and harder to hear, as she made her way down to her office. Neville released a loud breath of relief as Carina moved him back to the middle of the hall. Although his breath seemed to catch again as she opened her mouth.

'What?' Carina questioned.

'L-look d-down' stammered Neville.

Carina did as told and she nearly let out a shriek. Her body was invisible. Well, not invisible. More the colors of her surroundings, like camouflage. Black splotches swirled into dull gray and small bits of darker gray mixed together, alternating with her movement. Her hair was black and had faint gray twirls in her messy tresses.

 _ **It's almost like…a chameleon…**_

'N-Neville you have to go back to Gryffindor Tower. Me and Pr-Harry already saw Malfoy trying to catch us. They caught him and Malfoy, and I don't want you getting in trouble either.' said Carina softly.

'What about you?' demanded Neville.

'I've got to save Harry—it was my fault too and I can't let him take the blame alone.' grimaced Carina.

Neville gave her a small nod paired with a crooked smile and turned back to the stairs of Gryffindor Tower.

'Oh, and Neville?' whispered Carina.

He turned around quickly.

'Thanks for trying to help out—even if it didn't go to plan' smiled Carina.

Neville gave his lopsided smile and shuffled back up the faintly lit marble steps.

Carina wasted no time following McGonagall's trail.

 _ **Time to save Prongs!**_

~CFB~

The camouflaged sprint back down to the First Floor was not as difficult as when Carina was going up. Legs burning outside of Professor McGonagall's office, she straightened up and made her features as normal as possible. Carina would go in chin held high, and that was that. She could hear Professor McGonagall beginning her lecture.

'I would never have believed it of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the Astronomy Tower—with an accomplice that we will find. It's one o' clock in the morning. Explain yourself.'

A silence fell upon the room. McGonagall cleared her throat and restarted her rant.

'I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on' said Professor McGonagall. 'It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny then, Mr. Potter?

Carina could just imagine Harry with a dumbstruck face, looking down at his shoes. That was it. She was heading in there—right now.

Carina's small hand reached up to the office's brass doorknob. A brilliantly bright light flashed in front of her. She blinked a bit, and her eyes adjusted to the situation. Professor McGonagall was looking at her with nostrils flared. It looked like she was going to breathe fire.

 _ **Humor is my best solution then.**_

'Hey, Minnie' winked Carina, straight up ignoring McGonagall, and strutting right up to stand near Harry.

Harry had his eyes widened and jaw dropped, like in the cartoons. McGonagall looked like someone had just sucker-punched her—a dazed look was written all over her face.

'Miss Black—I suppose you were Mr. Potter's accomplice then?' bit out McGonagall, recovering from her shock.

'Actually Minnie, Prongs is more my accomplice—you see, I wanted to go and snog Harry up in the tower—no one ever distracts you there—and it just so happened that Filch was prowling around when we were heading back to our dormitories.' She took a dramatic gasp of air. 'Malfoy must've gotten the idea we had a dragon, cause that's our code-name to go and kiss—"Let's hide the dragon"—and misinterpreted us!' she squeaked.

Carina gave her a dazzling smile and watched her audience's expressions.

Harry was bright red, eyes the size of the moon, and gazing at her like she just crash-landed from outer space.

McGonagall was in a similar state—although she had her eyebrows so high, they disappeared in her hairline.

Carina kept a cocky smile on her face as Professor McGonagall's expressions contorted around.

 _ **How's that for an excuse, huh Minnie?**_

'Miss Black!' shrieked McGonagall.

'I would expect better behavior from Mr. Potter, but you getting him into trouble is not acceptable! Three students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! I would've thought Gryffindor meant more to both of you than this. You will both receive detentions—with Mr. Malfoy—and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor' she said in one long breath.

'Fifty?!' exclaimed Harry.

Carina's eyebrows shot up and she elbowed him just before the final blow.

'Fifty points each' snapped Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

'Professor—please—you can't—' wheedled Harry, but it was a lost cause.

'Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, both of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students'

A hundred points lost. And it was all thanks to Prongs and his big mouth—Why couldn't he wait to moan about points after she took fifty?! Vengeance is a bittersweet flavor.

Just as she was exiting a seething McGonagall's office, Carina couldn't help but call out.

'Never say never, Minnie!'

Had she stuck around to see the extremely surprised and sorrowful look on Professor McGonagall's face, Carina surely wouldn't have made that particular comment.

~CFB~

 _ **What the hell are they going to say—What happened to all the points?! Ugh.**_

Carina was dreading going to breakfast the next day. Everyone would notice the hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. They surely lost any chance of winning the house cup for sure. Carina's stomach was churning all night. She couldn't get any sleep and Harry was mad at her coming back to McGonagall's office.

According to his weak argument when they got to the Tower, if she hadn't gone back, Gryffindor wouldn't have lost as many points. That moron. Filch knew he had an accomplice, and who else had her dark red hair? Filch was old, not blind as a bat. Harry was being an idiot—Neville would have gotten caught too and they still would have lost points, so it didn't matter anyway.

Carina decided to skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner and eat in the kitchens. Then, no one could bother her or rave about losing a hundred points. She knew that no one would dare say something to her face—Carina would surely hex them into next week—and no one could crack her seemingly confident exterior. They would talk behind her back. Then she had no solid proof they were saying anything. So Carina couldn't attack them. Maybe that new chameleon thing would come in handy for disappearing in the halls.

Later in the day, Carina found out that Harry was having a miserable time with her—they also knew she had some part in losing all those points—The Pranking Princess, who'd helped cause some of the best pranks with the Twins, aka The Pranking Kings. Almost the entire school was pissed at them.

The Slytherins were unbearable—they reminded her every time they saw her of helping them win. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were looking forward to seeing Slytherin lose the House Cup, but now it was all ruined thanks to them.

Only Hermione, Mary, Ron, and Neville stood by her. Nobody would dare speak to her in the halls, or in her classes. If people were going to hate her, they might as well envy her too. Carina drew more attention in class. She had already stocked up a week's worth of detentions by hexing anyone who had the gall to say things to her face. Even the twins, some of her closest friends, turned their backs on her. To say the least, it pissed her off. Carina still planned pranks, but this time, on the entire school. Neither Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, nor Hufflepuff was spared.

Gryffindor was the first, and the easiest. She had put itching powder in the entire tower's dormitory clothes, except hers, Ron's, Hermione's, Mary's, and Neville's. Harry was not exempt from it, neither were his other roommates, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. Magical itching powder was a lot better than regular itching powder; it lasted a lot longer and spread a lot quicker than the regular one.

Ravenclaw was next. Those bird-brained geniuses would suffer her wrath. Their once pristine and flawless uniforms were now the most flamboyant colors imaginable. Shocking pink. Electrifying yellow. Flashing purple. None were safe. They couldn't be washed out for a week, thanks to that Dyeing potion in the Prank-Book.

Hufflepuff was soon after. By then all the students were wary of who was next—the twins had already admitted to not being the cause of all of their misfortunes—and no one knew who was doing it. They had an interesting spell cast onto their barrel entrance. Whenever they talked, a loud braying noise like a donkey sounded. Except, whoever was affected by the spell could hear the other just fine. This led a very confusing day, as no one could understand them except their own house.

Last, but certainly not least, Slytherins. They had the best one. They wanted a House Cup; they were going to get the pride to go with it. It wasn't very difficult to enter their Common Room. Carina had simply followed an unsuspecting boy into the dungeons. Honestly, a five-year old could figure out their password (Pure), and she had entered no problem. The next day was a very special surprise, as they woke up. Their skin was silver and green, hair to match the opposite skin color. If they had green skin, they had silver hair. The effect lasted two whole weeks before the potion completely left their water system.

The exams were hers (and theirs) only saving grace. Carina knew that everyone would be so engrossed in their exams that they wouldn't have enough time to say scathing remarks or comments. Harry still hadn't apologized for his rude comments after their nightly disaster—not that her friends hadn't been trying to nudge him in the right direction. Even Neville mentioned that she helped him avoid getting in trouble, but Harry was still as stubborn as a mule. Carina certainly wasn't going to attempt apologies if he was unwilling to address the issue.

Although, something interesting happened in the weeks of the exams, when she was walking her usual camouflaged route to the kitchens.

'You know, I can still see you' said a male voice, from behind her.

'Say what you're gonna say before I hex you' snarled Carina, turning around quickly, wand twirling in her hand.

It was a boy. A Slytherin to be exact. He had curly black hair and icy-blue eyes, which were peering at her curiously. He seemed to be a first year, but with her luck, he'd probably be a second year. He was either abnormally tall, or just older than her.

'No need to threaten me—I just couldn't help but notice your interesting ability.' drawled the boy in a very sarcastic tone. He held his hands up in a calming manner, and Carina narrowed her eyes at him.

 _ **Interesting ability? Didn't everyone know she could change her appearance?**_

'Doesn't everyone know I'm a Metamorphmagus?' Carina snapped.

Before the boy could respond, she morphed into her usual red-haired self.

'Oh, you're the one who lost all those points with Potter!' He laughed.

Carina lifted her wand higher, and scowled at him.

''The one' has a name, and if you're here to gloat, would you like dog ears or a tail?' she threatened.

'"The one', what is your name then?' said the boy.

'Carina' was her simple response.

'Black?'

Eyebrow raised, Carina nodded slowly.

'Well, I am Daniel. Daniel Greengrass, twin brother to Daphne Greengrass'

'Woah, calm down there, I wanted your name, not your life story.'

'Anyways, I wouldn't like to be hexed; just you and him are infamous now, aren't you? And **great** job the other week, took forever to get that ridiculous dye out.' Daniel had a sarcastic smile plastered on his face, which made her smirk arrogantly.

'Wasn't it? I like to think so.' sang Carina.

'Ha-ha, and when I tell your Head of House, it'll be great too, huh?' said Daniel, still smiling.

'Sure, tell me all about what Minnie says when I get back from dinner, eh?' and Carina turned back around, camouflaging perfectly with the bright torchlight in the corridor and the dark gray stonewalls.

~CFB~

Later that day, while Carina was sitting in the Kitchens, a small house-elf handed her a letter.

 _ **Why did they wait so long to hand these to us?**_

" _Your detention will take place at eleven o' clock tonight._

 _Meet Mr. Filch in the Entrance Hall._

 _Professor M. McGonagall"_

 _ **So for punishment for going out after curfew, they were going to send them to detention at night after curfew. Makes sense. Maybe they waited so long because of all her detentions.**_

At eleven o' clock that night, Carina, Mary, and Hermione went down to the common room. Harry was waiting by Ron at the portrait hole. She made a point of not wanting to talk while going down to the Entrance Hall. Harry seemed to accept this fact; he stopped trying to make conversation when they were at the Third Floor.

Malfoy and Filch were already there. Filch had a nasty smile on his face as they walked towards him.

'Follow me' said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

'I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?' leered Filch.

'Do you know who you're talking to?' snapped Carina.

Filch plowed on.

'Oh yes…hard work and pain are the best teachers at this school if you ask me…it's a shame they let the old punishments die out…hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've still got the chains in my office, keep 'em well oiled just in case they're ever needed…Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now. It's be worse for you if you do.'

'There's a reason they let them die out, you sadistic bastard' muttered Carina.

Harry snickered next to her, and Carina glared at him. This detention wasn't like her other ones. She'd written lines, scrubbed out cauldrons, even polished the entire trophy room, but none ever had her go outside. And the looming Forbidden Forest didn't look so friendly in the brightness of the moon. A distant shout drew her out of her wonderings.

'Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started.'

 _ **Hagrid!**_

Looking around, Carina could see the relief in Harry's face. Sadly, Filch could see it too.

'I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again boy—it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece'

At this, Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.

'The forest?' he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as smug as usual. 'We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I heard.'

'That's your problem, isn't it?' said Filch, voice lighting up with glee.

 _ **Werewolves only go crazy in the full moon, right?**_

Hagrid came striding towards them, Fang at his heel. He was carrying a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows over his shoulder.

'Abou' time' he said. 'I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right there, Harry, Carina?'

'I shouldn't be so friendly with them, Hagrid' bit Filch coldly. 'They're here to be punished, after all'

'That's why yer late, is it?' said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. 'Bin lecturin' them, eh? S'not in your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here.'

Carina gave a smug smile to Filch, who looked like Hagrid had smacked him.

'I'll be back at dawn' said Filch. 'For what's left of them' he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, lamp bobbing in the darkness.

Malfoy then rounded on Hagrid.

'I'm not going in that forest' said Malfoy, fear and panic highlighting his tone.

'Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts' said Hagrid fiercely. 'Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it'

'But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—'

'—tell yer that's how it is at is at Hogwarts.' growled Hagrid. 'Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back ter the castle an' pack. Go on then!'

Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.

'Right then, now listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don't want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment' said Hagrid slowly.

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted her hair as she looked into the forest.

'Look there,' said Hagrid. 'See that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time this week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try and find the poor thing. We might have to put it out of it's misery.'

'And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?' said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

'There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang,' said Hagrid. 'An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least.'

'I want Fang' said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

'All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward' said Hagrid. 'So me, 'n Harry'll go one way an' Draco, Carina, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now—that's it—an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh—so, be careful—let's go.'

Carina was not happy at all with who she was stuck with, but at least it prevented from Harry trying to talk to her.

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and she and Malfoy took the right path, while Hagrid and Harry took the left.

They walked in silence, eyes looking at the ground. Malfoy wouldn't dare try anything with Carina; he was too afraid at what she would do. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

This easily was her most interesting detention so far. It was almost like a murder mystery, except they could be hurt any minute. Suddenly, Malfoy let out a strangled scream. The tall dark green bushes in front of them were rustling furiously, and the silver blood was clearly shining in the moonlight.

'Calm down!' hissed Carina.

But it was too late. Malfoy, in a panicked state, shot up a dazzling sight of red sparks.

'You idiot!' snapped Carina. 'There's nothing to be scared of!'

Malfoy was pale, and that didn't help the dark red blush from being hidden. Carina turned to the bushes. Whatever was there might still be there.

'Who's there?' Carina barked.

And a faint rustling of the evergreen leaves moved to see—a man? No, a horse. No… To the waist it was a man, with long brown hair and beard to match, below that was a horse's gleaming bronze body and white socks with a long brown tail. He looked down at her.

'Tis only I, Cenarius. What are you doing here, little red-haired Protector?' rumbled the centaur with a deep voice.

'U-um we were just looking for something in the forest—something's been injuring the unicorns' stammered Carina.

Cenarius nodded his head slowly.

'Always the innocent are the first victims, so it has been for ages past, so it is now'

The centaur flung back his head and looked at the sky.

'Mars is bright tonight'

 _ **What?**_

A loud crashing from behind grabbed Carina's attention. Hagrid had his crossbow out and tailing right behind him was Harry.

'What's happen'd! Who's in trouble?!'

'Nothing, Hagrid, the blond foal was frightened by me' spoke the centaur.

'Ah, it's just you Cenarius' sighed Hagrid, putting his crossbow away.

'Mars is unusually bright tonight' repeated Cenarius.

'So we've heard' said Hagrid grumpily. 'Well, if you see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then'

Hagrid led them away from the brown centaur.

'We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket this one was makin' he pointed at Malfoy. 'Right, we're changin' groups—Malfoy, you stay with me an' Fang. Harry, you go with Carina.'

 _ **Just great.**_

They set off into the heart of the forest. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Carina laughed coldly when Harry tripped on one of the many curling roots. He scowled at her and dusted himself off.

'Thanks'

'No, thank you' said Carina sarcastically.

He did not reply to that, and they continued walking through the trees. A faint mist was swirling here and the blood seemed to be getting thicker on the splatters Carina noticed on the leaves. They came across a clearing, when Harry put out his arm to stop her.

'Look—' he murmured.

Something brilliantly white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Carina had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was splayed around it, pearly white on the dark underbrush of the forest.

Carina took a cautious step with Harry towards it, when a slithering sound made them halt in their path. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered menacingly. Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Carina and Harry stood transfixed. The mysterious figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head, over the shining wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.

Carina let out a sharp gasp. In the heavy silence of the forest, the figure raised its head and looked right at them—silver unicorn blood dripping from its black cloak. It got to its feet and came swiftly towards them. Her eyes widened, and she shoved him away from its incoming path. A figure jumped clear over her head, just as Harry fell to his knees after stumbling back.

Carina didn't have a chance to see their savior; she was too busy kneeling down at Harry. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and after a minute or two, he looked up, startled. Carina followed his gaze and her eyes widened. It was another centaur. It looked a bit younger than Cenarius; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

'Are you both all right?' asked the centaur, pulling Harry back to his feet. Carina stood and looked at the centaur closer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires.

'Yes—thank you—what was that?'

The centaur didn't answer. He was too busy analyzing them; just like she had done to him.

'You are the Potter boy, and the red-haired Protector Cenarius found.' He said. 'You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time—especially not for you two. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.'

Carina barely had time to nod, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so they could climb on his back.

'My name is Firenze' rumbled the centaur, after they were on his back. Carina wrapped her arms around Harry; the ground looked a lot higher from up there.

There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Two more centaurs came bursting through the trees. One was a reddish color, and the other was a dark black color. They looked positively livid.

'Firenze!' thundered the dark one. 'What are you doing? You have humans on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?'

'Do you realize who these are?' said Firenze. 'This is the Potter boy and the Protector. The sooner they leave this forest, the better'

'What have you been telling them?' growled the dark one. 'Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?'

The red one pawed the ground nervously. 'I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best' he said gloomily.

The black-bodied centaur kicked his back legs in anger.

'For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what had been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!'

Firenze suddenly reared on his hind legs in anger, so Carina crushed Harry's ribs even harder to stay on.

'Do you not see that unicorn?' Firenze bellowed. 'Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must.'

And the centaur whirled around; Carina holding on for dear life as they plunged off into the trees, leaving Bane and the red centaur behind them.

Carina had no idea what just happened. First, they found the unicorn. Second, Harry collapsed when the figure attacked. Third, Firenze the centaur saved them. Fourth, Firenze got into an argument. Fifth, Present time. That summed it up. Harry asked the question she was thinking.

'Why's Bane so angry? What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?'

Firenze slowed down to a brisk walk. He warned them to keep their heads bowed but other than that made no attempt to answer his question. After a long silence, Carina felt that Firenze didn't want to answer the question. They were passing a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.

'Harry Potter and Carina Black, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?'

 _ **How did he know my name?!**_

'No?' replied Carina uncertainly.

'We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions' said Harry.

'That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn,' said Firenze somberly. 'Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.'

Carina stared with wide eyes, at Firenze.

'But who'd be that desperate?' questioned Harry. 'If you're going to be cursed forever, deaths better, isn't it?'

'It is' Firenze agreed. 'Unless all you need to stay alive long enough is to drink something else—something that will bring you back to full strength and power—something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, Ms. Black, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?'

'The Sorcerer's Stone!' exclaimed Carina. 'The Elixir of Life!'

'But I don't understand who—' began Harry.

'Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?'

Carina couldn't think of anyone who'd be that desperate, but Harry gasped out several words.

'Do you mean,' Harry croaked. 'That was Vol—'

 _ **Voldemort! I thought he was dead, according to Ron…**_

'Harry! Carina! Are you all right?'

Hagrid was puffing past the trees towards them, Malfoy and Fang in tow.

'Yeah, we found the unicorn in the clearing back there' said Harry somberly.

Carina let go of Harry quickly. They had stopped and she slid off Firenze's back. Hagrid left Malfoy and hurried off to examine the unicorn.

'This is where I leave you' murmured Firenze. 'You are safe now.'

Harry slid off his back and Firenze said a few more confusing words.

'Good luck, both of you, the planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times'

He turned quickly and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Carina and Harry with a look of shock written all over their faces.

It was when they were walking back to the Seventh Floor, when Harry deemed it high time to apologize to her.

'Hey, Padfoot.' Began Harry.

'Yeah, Prongs?' said Carina softly.

'Sorry for blaming you—Neville told me what happened and Filch knew you were there too—I just had to blame someone other than myself' said Harry somberly.

'It's fine—just figure things out before mouthing off, won't you?' said Carina sarcastically.

'Shame we had to have a near-death experience for this to happen' sighed Harry.

'Not my fault you're stubborn' muttered Carina.

Harry laughed and they walked in a now comfortable silence to the Common Room.

~CFB~

Ron, Mary, and Hermione had fallen asleep on the plush scarlet couches of the Gryffindor Common Room. It almost seemed a shame to disturb them, but Carina smiled when Harry shook Ron up.

'Foul!' shouted Ron, shooting awake.

His yell seemed to wake up Hermione, who was rubbing her eyes.

'Shut up, Specks, I'm trying to sleep' moaned Mary, shifting around.

'Well, I guess you don't want to hear about our detention' said Carina faux-tearfully.

This got her attention at once, and she sprung up, similar to what Ron had done.

'Padfoot and I were walking in the forest—see Hagrid was telling us about how a unicorn was really injured, and we had to find it. We came across a big clearing—there were trees everywhere. A unicorn was lying right in the middle—and it wasn't moving. Then, a figure came out, and you'll never guess what it was doing—drinking it's blood! A centaur named Firenze saved both of us, and said Voldemort—' Ron hissed. '—Was going to try and get the Sorcerer's Stone!'

By the end of his story, Carina was pacing up and down in front of the always-lit fire.

'Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort…and Voldemort's waiting in the forest…and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…' muttered Carina.

'Stop saying the name!' said Ron, clearly terrified. As if Voldemort could hear them, scoffed Carina.

'Firenze saved us both, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious...he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen...They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill us...I suppose that's written in the stars as well.'

'Will you stop saying the name!' Ron hissed.

'So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone' Harry went on feverishly. 'Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish us off…Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy'

'You need to not, Prongs.' snapped Carina. 'Obviously if 'the stars said it was going to happen' and it didn't, doesn't mean the centaurs know everything, nor are they completely reliable. If Voldemort was meant to kill us then, we wouldn't be standing here, now would we?'

Hermione too, had something to say.

'Prongs, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of with Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who can't touch any of us. Anyways, like Padfoot said, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic'

The first rays of sunlight were beginning to shine through the red curtains before they stopped talking. Carina drudged herself off to bed when Mary had fallen asleep mid-sentence. She had a difficult time finding sleep; well after the sun had risen.

 _ **Why would Voldemort want to kill me?**_

 **A/N: Best excuse ever, huh? Also, I don't believe 10-14 year olds should be "dating" or kissing—really anything related to relationships, well maybe 14, cause that's when high-school starts here. To be honest, it makes me wonder what parents are doing with/teaching their children at home. Anyways, they won't be dating anyone for a LONG while. And who exactly is Daniel Greengrass, hmm? He will surely come out in later books/chapters. And Cenarius—sound familiar? Thanks for reading, and see y'all next time, m'kay.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Exams were a pain. Between dealing with worry about the Stone being stolen, and exams that were both practical and written, Carina wasn't exactly sure how she did on them; certainly she'd failed History of Magic.

The classroom they did their written papers was extremely hot, and Carina had to have her own desk and quill modified for her, as she was left-handed. It turns out the quills had now been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell, so that weeded out anyone that struggled with the subject. Easily the hardest written exam was History of Magic. She could barely remember the names of the goblin riots, goblin snowball fights, or even what she'd eaten for breakfast before that test.

The practical exams were a breeze, though. Professor Flitwick called them in one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Carina had decided to show off for him. The pineapple did indeed tap-dance, but it had a top hat, tailcoat, and complete with sleek black tap dancing shoes. That earned her extra points and a cheeky wink.

Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox—not that Carina had any idea what that was—but when she asked McGonagall, it was a small box that could carry powder. She gave points for how pretty the box was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Her box was a intricate silver design of leaves and vines, woven up to a small golden rose on the top. It was really pretty, and Professor McGonagall wasted no time on praising the small box.

Snape, however, made them all very anxious; he was breathing down their necks the entire time while they made a Forgetfulness Potion. Honestly, Carina thought he needed a mint—that breath would repel any breathing woman alive. Never mind that, his greasy shoulder-length hair would do it alone.

Thankfully, after finishing Professor Binns' exam, Carina along with the rest of her class, cheered with joy as they all walked outside. She felt so relieved that exams were over, it even took her mind off the more pressing matter.

'That was far easier than I thought it would be' said Hermione, as they walked down to the sunny grounds.

Carina let out a groan. Hermione loved going over what was in the exams afterwards, but Ron said this made him feel sick. Carina privately agreed as they walked down to the lake and sat under a large shadowy willow tree. It was an old tree—carvings littered the knurled bark but the most prominent was the one that read: " _Marauders for life—Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, Leo, and Chameel—'71-'78"_

They had declared this tree theirs after Carina found this carving. She had a notion to mark it as theirs too, but had decided against it. Maybe it would be a better idea in Seventh year.

'No more studying' sighed Ron happily, stretching out across the well-groomed grass.

'Not like I even attempted to study' scoffed Carina with a smile.

'Yeah, how do you do that?!' exclaimed Hermione, a disproving look in her eyes.

'I don't know—maybe I'm just that good' Carina smirked.

'You could look more cheerful, Prongs, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet' sighed Ron.

'You mean how badly **you've** done' said Mary, turning to look at Ron.

Ron made a face that sort of said 'eh' and Mary went back to observing the twins tickle the giant squid.

Harry was rubbing his forehead.

'I wish I knew what this means!' he burst out suddenly. 'My scar keeps hurting—it's happened before, but never as often as this'

Carina was taken aback from his outburst—not that she let it show—and eyed his forehead carefully. His lightning shaped scar was pretty red, but that was from Harry irritating it. It seemed to be turning pink, maybe that's what it looked like before it turned milky white.

'Go to Madam Pomfrey' Hermione suggested.

'I'm not ill' said Harry stubbornly. 'I think it's a warning…it means danger's coming…'

 _ **If this wasn't the first time it burned—when was the beginning of the issue—surely it didn't burn at his Aunt and Uncle's home, right? Maybe it has something to do with the Stone and that figure we saw in the forest—it seemed to affect him strongly.**_

Carina glanced around. Hermione's face was one of worry—Ron couldn't be bothered to get up—Mary was still watching the twins.

 _ **Obviously it doesn't concern him that much, but if it was bothering him a lot…why doesn't he tell someone? He'll probably look like a crazy person if they did though…**_

She was pulled out of her thoughts as Ron replied to him.

'Prongs, relax, Moony's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down' said Ron exasperatedly.

 _ **But he got hurt a month ago—that's enough for it to heal a bit, well enough for him to walk normally, then. But why would Hagrid ever betray Dumbledore? What if someone got him drunk enough though—that's how he got Norbert, right? Hagrid's an open book! And…and if they asked if he could handle it…he of course would mention that damn dog!**_

Carina shot to her feet. Harry too had come to the same realization it seemed—they both had risen at the same time.

'Where're you going?' mumbled Ron sleepily.

'I've just thought of something.' Said Harry, blood draining from his face. 'We've got to go see Hagrid, now.'

'Why?' asked Mary, finally turning to look at them.

Harry ignored her and started quickly towards Hagrid's hut.

Carina followed him with the rest and ran a bit to catch up.

'Why?' panted Mary again, jogging to keep up with his fast pace.

'Don't you think it's a bit odd,' said Harry, briskly walking up the steep hill, 'that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before? Padfoot, you thought the same thing, right?'

'Well not as thought out as that, but don't we know that Hagrid's pretty much an open book? If they asked him if he could handle Norbert, of course he'd bring up Fluffy—who wouldn't? And if he was interested in him, Hagrid would surely answer all his questions no problem. If he asked how to get past the dog…and Hagrid was drunk enough…wouldn't that be enough to get it out of him?' said Carina, trailing off as she put Harry and her observations together.

'What are you two on about?' questioned Ron, a bewildered look spread across his face.

Carina didn't answer; she was too busy locking in Hagrid's location. He was in front of his hut, sat in an ancient looking armchair, shelling peas into a roughly carved wooden bowl.

'Hullo' said Hagrid with a smile. 'Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?'

'Yes, please—' started Ron, but Harry cut him off.

'No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?'

'Dunno' said Hagrid, as if this were normal, 'he wouldn't take his cloak off'

'So…you got a dragon egg, from a complete stranger?' questioned Mary.

'It's not that strange, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head—that's the pug down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up'

 _ **Of course, that would happen. It was probably like this guy turned up and walked up to a drunk Hagrid like: "Hey want a free dragon egg? I have one right here! In my pocket. Never mind they're illegal or rare—just play a card game for it, eh?"**_

Carina's hair was a strawberry-blonde out of a growing worry about what would happen to the Stone. This did not go amiss, as Harry asked his next question.

'What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?'

'Mighta come up' said Hagrid vaguely, frowning as he tried to remember. 'Yeah…he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here…He asked 'bout the sorta creatures I took after…so I told 'im…an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon…an' then I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks…Let's see…yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play fer cards fer it if I wanted…but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home…So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…'

'And-And did he—did he seem interested in Fluffy?' asked Carina, a tremble hidden deep in her question.

'Well—yeah—how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep—'

Hagrid cut himself off with a horrified look as he realized what he said. Carina's face drained of all color and her hair turned completely blonde.

 _ **Snape knows how to get past Fluffy.**_

'I shouldn'ta told yeh that!' he burst out. 'Forget I said it! Hey—where're yeh goin'?'

None of them waited for him to stop talking. They didn't speak at all until they came to a stop in the Entrance Hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the warm and bright grounds.

'We've got to go to Dumbledore' said Hermione immediately.

'Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak—it must've been easy, once he got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?' said Harry quickly.

'Oh! We've been there plenty of times—Follow us' said Mary with a proud smile.

'We have to—' began Harry as they walked towards Dumbledore's office.

'What are you three doing inside' said a stern voice that filled Carina with even more dread.

It was Professor McGonagall—and she didn't look very happy behind her large pile of books in hand.

'We want to see Professor Dumbledore' said Ron boldly.

'See Professor Dumbledore?' parroted McGonagall, as if they were all untrustworthy—well, maybe herself, Mary, and Harry, but not Hermione or Ron. 'Why?'

Carina was the first to speak up.

'We'd like to ask him a question' she said sweetly.

'Then you'll have to ask me then, I'm afraid.' Said McGonagall sternly.

'No!' burst out Ron.

'And why not, Mr. Weasley?' McGonagall rounded on him, frown audible from behind her.

'It's sort of—a secret' said Harry, trying to save Ron.

Not the right thing to say, she supposed. Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared and she said with a cold voice:

'Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once'

'He's gone?!' exclaimed Mary. 'Now?!'

'Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Fawley. He has many demands on his time—'

'But this is important' interrupted Hermione.

Carina's jaw dropped. Hermione cut off Professor McGonagall—her favorite teacher, of all people.

'Something you have to ask is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Granger?'

'Look,' said Harry, waving his hands around in frustration, 'Professor—it's about the Sorcerer's Stone—'

Professor McGonagall's books tumbled out of her arms in blatant surprise over what he just said. She didn't pick them up immediately either.

 _ **Obviously you didn't expect that, eh Minnie?**_ Thought Carina with a smirk.

'How do you know—?' spluttered McGonagall.

"Cause we know EVERYTHING" was the reply Carina wanted to make the most, but Harry beat her to the punch.

'Professor, I think—I know—that Sn—that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore.' Said Harry hesitantly.

Minnie did not look at all pleased with his answer—in fact, she looked shocked and suspicious at the same time.

'Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow,' she said finally, after looking at them each with a perplexed look. 'I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected'

Harry tried once more.

'But Professor—'

'Potter, I know what I'm talking about,' she said shortly, as she bent down to retrieve the fallen books. 'I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine'

But they couldn't.

'It's tonight' said Harry, once Minnie had gone from sight. 'Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now Dumbledore's out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up'

'But what can we—' hissed Mary.

She was cut off as Hermione let out a loud gasp. Carina whirled around, and who else would it be, but Professor Snape.

'Good afternoon' he said smoothly.

They all stared at him, blank expressions on their faces.

'You shouldn't be inside on a day like this' said Snape, with an odd twisted smile that resembled a grimace.

'I didn't know we couldn't be indoors.' snapped Carina.

'You want to be more careful, hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?' he said silkily.

Carina's hands clenched with her jaw as she turned away to go back to the bright grounds. Hair black, she turned once more as Snape called to them.

'Be warned, Potter, Black—anymore nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you'

He strode off to the staffroom.

'That felt like a threat to stay in the Common Room tonight' said Carina, hair turning a dark brown color as she became more worried.

'Right, here's what we've got to do' whispered Harry urgently. 'One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape—wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Moony, I think you'd better do that.'

'Why me?'

'Cause you're the least suspicious, and you can pretend to wait for Professor Flitwick or something.' Said Mary.

'Oh Professor, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen B wrong…' simpered Ron in a high-pitched voice.

Carina, Harry, and Mary snickered but Hermione didn't find it amusing.

'Oh, shut up' snapped Hermione, but she agreed to go watch out for Snape.

Carina wasn't sure what would end up happening tonight, but it surely wasn't good.

~CFB~

Harry then had the brilliant idea of going to check on Fluffy, but McGonagall was there—and she was not happy—in fact, she lost her temper at them and threatened to take fifty points from Gryffindor again. Great plan, Prongs. And then, when they got to their common room, Hermione was there.

'I'm so sorry!' she wailed. 'I was waiting outside when Snape came out, and he asked what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went'

'Well, that's just it then, isn't it?' said Harry gloomily.

'What?' said Mary, a confused expression on her face.

'I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first'

'Are you mad?!' said Ron.

'You can't!' said Hermione. 'After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!'

'SO WHAT!' shouted Harry. 'Don't you understand?! If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There wont be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, cant you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup?!'

This filled Carina with a fiery rage.

'If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you four say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?'

At the end of his rant, he was breathing hard and glaring at them. Carina would not stand for this as her own anger boiled over.

'In case you hadn't noticed, Potter, me and Mary don't exactly have parents. And how dare you try and accuse us of not caring about the Stone—Where do you think we've been the whole time?! Eating cake and watching you do everything?!' said Carina coldly. 'But no one says nothing to you— **the** Harry Potter, cause he lost his parents, boo hoo!' she sneered. 'We aren't going to stop you—in fact, we're going to help you—do you really think you could do it alone?! So much for being our friend.' she snapped, hair pitch black, eyes dark as night with bright red flames dancing in them.

Harry didn't look remotely mad now—he had a expression of a child who had just been yelled at by their parents.

'I'm sorry' he said in a small voice.

'You'd better be' bit out Mary, whose expression was not unlike Carina's.

 _ **Deep breaths, deep breaths, don't strangle your friend, don't strangle your friend…**_

After a few deep breaths, Carina made her hair crimson and eyes their natural silver—although they were still a bit stormy under her glare.

'We'll use the invisibility cloak' said Harry, recovering from his lecture. 'It's just lucky I got it back.'

'But will it cover all of us?' said Ron, who had been watching them like a pair of rabid dogs.

'But if we get caught, you'll all be expelled, too' said Harry.

Carina glared at him once more.

'Did you not hear my lecture, Prongs? Of course we don't care about that'

'Right, just checking' said Harry, who'd sat on one of the many red armchairs in the Gryffindor Common Room.

~CFB~

They spent the next few hours in a tension-filled silence. No Gryffindor except Neville would talk to them, and for that, Carina was actually grateful for once. Hermione was pouring over long dusty tomes for anything that would help them get past Fluffy and the other traps the teachers had set. Carina was sitting on the end of the plush sofa, Harry opposite her.

After another couple of minutes, the spacious room soon began to empty; the last rays of sunlight had long since disappeared. Lee Jordan was the last to leave, stretching and yawning.

'Better get the cloak' Ron muttered.

'I still don't think we'll all fit in there' said Hermione, looking up thoughtfully.

'I don't need the cloak' Carina spoke up.

'What?' said Harry.

'I can camouflage; I'll just blend into the walls behind you guys.'

'Oh…alright then' and Harry went up to his dormitory to get the cloak.

They didn't need to wait long; a couple of seconds and Harry was zooming down the stairs.

'We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us—if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own—'

'What are you doing?' said a shaky voice from behind a couch, holding his toad, Trevor.

'Nothing!' exclaimed Harry, a bit too quickly for Carina's liking.

Neville looked at his guilty face in disbelief.

'You're going out again.' he stated, as a fact and not as a question.

'No, no, no' said Hermione assuredly. 'No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?'

It was steadily growing darker and darker outside—they had to leave immediately.

'You can't go out' said Neville. 'you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble.'

'You don't understand' said Carina desperately. 'This is very important'

Neville was having none of it; he looked like he was prepping himself for something risky.

'I wont let you do it' he said, moving to stand in front of the portrait hole. 'I'll—I'll fight you!'

'Neville, please don't' said Mary, raising her hands up.

But Ron had to ruin it.

'Neville, get away from that hole and don't be an idiot—'

'Don't you call me an idiot' Mary smacked Ron at this. 'I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!'

'Yes, but not to us!' said Ron in exasperation. 'Neville, you don't know what you're doing.'

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad.

'Go on then, try and hit me!' said Neville, hands rising up for a fight. 'I'm ready!'

'Neville, you really don't want to do this, please.' said Carina soothingly, wand out just in case.

'I won't let you get Gryffindor in trouble.' he said stubbornly.

'Do something!' hissed Harry, nudging her.

'Sorry 'bout this, Neville.' Carina said. ' _Petrificus Totalus!'_

A bright red jet of light flew from her wand and hit Neville. His arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed back and forth and fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

'Ah, Neville.' sighed Carina, shaking her head.

Mary and Ron moved to turn him over. His jaw was clamped shut tightly so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes gave indication that he was lucid—they were moving, looking at them in horror.

'What've you done to him?' Harry whispered, eyebrows high.

'It's the full Body-Bind' said Hermione miserably. 'Oh, Neville, we're sorry.'

'We had to, Neville, no time to explain' said Harry.

'You'll understand later, Neville' said Ron, stepping over him to get out.

'What are you doing!' hissed Mary. 'We can't just leave him there!'

The boys exchanged guilty looks, and Hermione moved towards Neville.

' _Mobliocorpus'_

Neville's body moved slowly and oddly, frozen in place by Carina's spell, and moving around the room with Hermione's. He landed awkwardly on a scarlet couch and Hermione deemed this a worthy spot to leave him.

'Now let's go' said Harry, impatience lining his tone.

Carina wasn't new to exploring the corridors—in fact, she had done so many times during her silence with Harry. But that night felt like something ominous was going to happen—the air was thick with the nervousness of her friends. She was already camouflaged; Harry looked very surprised at this, but said nothing. They had all fit snugly into the large cloak without Carina there and a quick pace to the Third Floor was difficult as every faint gale of wind in the dim corridors sounded like Peeves, and every statue's shadow loomed over them like Filch.

The staircase up to the Third Floor was the most terrifying—Peeves was there, loosening the carpet so that people would trip. On any other night, Carina would've helped him, but not tonight—they had important business to attend to.

'Who's there' Peeves called out suddenly. He narrowed his eyes towards the place Carina assumed that her friends were at.

'Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?' he cackled.

He rose higher up into the air, all but disappearing in the shadows if he were any less transparent.

'Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen.' sang Peeves, turning to look at the wall Carina was pressed against in the dark.

A hoarse whisper nearly made Carina fall down in surprise.

'Peeves, the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible.'

She knew it couldn't be him—the Baron had a quieter voice and a deeper one as well, but Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock.

'So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir' he stammered. 'My mistake, my mistake—I didn't see you—of course I didn't, you're invisible—forgive old Peevsie for his little joke, sir'

The voice croaked once more.

'I have business here, Peeves. Stay away from this place tonight'

'I will, sir, I most certainly will' said Peeves, rising back to his original height. 'Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you' And Peeves took off quickly—wanting to get as far away as possible from the "Bloody Baron".

'Brilliant, Harry!' whispered a faint voice that could only be Ron.

Carina was so relieved—she hadn't noticed she was holding in a breath. Not a few seconds later, they reached the door that had been the stem of their worries—and it was open.

'Looks like Snape's already been here' said Mary distastefully.

Harry took the cloak off of them.

'If you want to go back right now, I won't blame you' he said. 'You can take the cloak, I won't need it now'

'Don't be mental' said Ron.

'Are you stupid?' Mary scoffed.

'Obviously we're going, Prongs.' said Carina.

Harry pushed the door open with a creaky groan. A low rumbling growl answered the door as Fluffy sniffed at them furiously.

'What's that at its feet?' whispered Hermione.

'Looks like a harp' said Ron. 'Snape must have left it there'

'It'll wake up the moment it stops playing' Carina said loudly.

'Don't worry, I've got this' said Harry, pulling out a small flute.

He put it to his lips and gave a small toot. Glancing at the dog, Carina noticed it's eyes begin to droop fast. Harry didn't seem to have a tune—it was more like random toots at different pitches as the dog began to slowly doze off. After around five minutes, it swayed on its paws and fell flat to the ground, a loud thud echoing off the walls.

'Keep playing' warned Ron, as they crept towards the trapdoor.

The dog's hot, nasty breath was very distinguishable as they got closer to it; Carina could feel her eyes tearing up.

'I think we'll be able to pull the door open' said Ron, peering over the dogs back.

'Want to go first, Padfoot?' said Ron nervously.

'Really!' Carina moved to Ron, a look of disbelief on her face, who then opened the trap door.

'What can you see?' asked Mary.

'Nothing, just darkness. There's no way of climbing down though, we'll just have to drop.' said Ron, arching over the black pit.

'Well, there's no point in waiting' and Carina lowered herself carefully into the hole.

Mary, Hermione, Ron, and Harry's worried faces peered at her as she held on to the wooden edge.

'Don't come after me if something's down there, okay?'

'Right' said Mary shakily.

'GERONIMO!'

And Carina fell. The air was cool and refreshing as the ground got closer and closer until she landed on something really soft. It was like the smooth texture of a plant. Carina groaned as she stood up.

'It's alright, it's a soft landing!' she called to the small bit of light barely noticeable from the damp room.

 _ **Better move, don't want to get crushed by whoever's next**_ thought Carina with a frown. Crushing to death was not the way she was going out.

Mary was the next person to block the light of the trapdoor entrance. She landed with a small scream.

'That is not comfortable' groaned Mary, sitting up.

Hermione was next. She landed similar to Mary and she shot up immediately.

'We must be miles under the school!' she exclaimed.

Ron then crashed with a ungraceful thud.

'Lucky this plant thing's here, really' groaned Ron, standing as they waited for Harry to jump in.

The awkward flute melody stopped and Harry leapt into the dark room. Carina thought he was the most graceful—he landed softly on his feet.

'Look at the plant!' shrieked Mary.

Carina hadn't noticed what she was on. It was a plant alright, but it was wrapping it's vines around her ankles sneakily. Mary, Ron, and Hermione had also been caught in the plant, and Harry was twisting out of it's grasp. But it was too late, and he got even more tangled in the plant as it moved around him faster and faster as he struggled. Hermione, however, had managed to escape it—she had been moving across the room when Mary warned them.

'Stop moving!' hissed Hermione. 'I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare!'

'Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help!' snarled Ron, trying to move as the plant moved around his neck.

Carina herself hadn't moved much when the plant began wrapping around her—it was only up to her waist.

'Shut up! I'm trying to remember how to kill it!' said Hermione.

'Well, hurry up! I can't breathe!' gasped Harry, struggling even more as it curled around his chest.

'What don't you understand about not struggling!' snapped Carina.

'Devil's Snare likes the dark and damp!' cried out Mary, who was also wrapped tightly by the dark vines.

The plant was now up to her arms and was coiling tightly around her, she moved her hands up so she wouldn't be completely incapacitated.

'So light a fire!' choked Harry.

'Yes—of course—but there's no wood!' Hermione cried, wringing her hands in fear and worry.

'HAVE YOU GONE MAD?! ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?!' bellowed Ron, who was almost completely swallowed by the vines.

Hermione waved her wand quickly, and bright blue flames flew out of her wand, to which the plant recoiled—freeing them from its grasp slowly. It unraveled itself from their bodies and they were able to pull free.

'Lucky we don't lose our heads in a crisis—Honestly, there's no wood…' muttered Ron, shoving the now-black vines off of him.

'Lucky Leo and Moony pay attention in Herbology.' snapped Carina, smacking Ron upside the head.

'I found a tunnel!' exclaimed Harry from a distance.

A stone passageway was the only thing distinguishable in the dimly lit room—the blue flames were starting to fade out. Carina pulled out her own wand, which was sweaty in her hands.

 _ **The one spell they actually learned in Defense against the Dark Arts, of course.**_

' _Lumos'_

A bright white light illuminated their faces. Soon, they all had their own wands out and did the same. Carina decided to lead—she didn't want her friends getting hurt like before, that was stupid of her not to notice. The corridor was moist and warm, and it wasn't long before Carina felt awfully sweaty.

'Leo, do you have a hair-tie?' Carina asked softly.

'Yeah, here's one on my hand' said Mary, holding out her arm.

'Thanks'

She pulled her long hair into a ponytail, but small hairs escaped it as Carina didn't have a brush.

 _ **Better than nothing, I guess.**_

They didn't walk much longer until Mary heard an odd noise.

'Can't you hear it?' she asked them, as they kept walking down the small slope of the corridor. 'It's like—a fluttering noise and metal hitting something.'

'No?' said Ron, confused.

'Wait.' said Hermione, stopping.

'I can hear it now' said Harry.

Carina let out a small hum of agreement—they were near the next obstacle. Not a bit later, a brightly lit chamber came into view, making them squint at all the brightness of the room and their wands.

' _Nox'_

Birds were flying all around the room, glittering as they fluttered all over the large chamber. A door was at the end of it.

'There's a door over there' said Harry, moving to open it.

Carina felt a pang of discontent; he always wanted to risk himself. The door wouldn't open, not even when they tried _Alohamora_.

'There has to be a way to get past this—these keys wouldn't be here if they couldn't get past it.' said Mary.

'Keys?' said Carina, turning to look at Mary.

'Yeah, can't you see them?'

Now that she looked closely, those birds glittered oddly as they soared all over.

'Broomsticks!' exclaimed Harry. 'We've got to catch the key to the door!' he said, pointing to the corner of the room. The broomsticks were lined against the wall—there were around ten of them, waiting for someone to use them. Carina could barely remember Madam Hooch's lessons—seemed so long ago and now they were in the chamber.

Carina went to grab one of the brooms. It was one of the school ones—that was obvious—but it must've been one of the better ones, because it didn't have as many broken twigs at the end.

'We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one—probably silver, like the handle.' called out Ron, who was examining the doorknob.

 _ **Lucky Harry's here, else we'd be here forever!**_ thought Carina, as they swerved and grasped for the right key. They moved swiftly, and it was hard to catch one as they dived and darted around quickly. Carina decided to just stop from the corner and observe. If it was one that was big and silver, but different from the rest—that shouldn't be so hard then.

Carina looked at the keys as the whirled everywhere, rainbow feathers glistening in the bright light. Until one of them—a larger key than the rest, with fluorescent blue wings, that wasn't moving as quick as the others either.

'There! By the pillar in the middle—it's got a broken wing!' called out Carina.

Harry went into a swift chase of the key—it moved in all directions as it evaded his grasp. Finally, after about a minute, he said: 'We've got to close in on it!'

'Specks, you get it from the top, Moony, you get it from the bottom, Padfoot, you from the right, and Leo behind me if it goes past, all right, NOW!'

They zoned in on the key as it became confused and flew left towards Harry, who then caught it as it tried to escape. They all cheered as the went to land by the door, where Harry smashed the key into the lock and turned—it worked. No sooner than it opened, the key took off, joining the rest of it's flock glittering around the room.

'Ready?' asked Harry, panting slightly, hand on the handle.

'Course we are' and he twisted the door open.

Carina and Ron's jaws dropped. They most certainly did not expect to see a chessboard.

 **A/N: Yay! They finally began the tasks towards the Sorcerer's Stone! Sorry for cutting it off, but I want it to be a bit longer—besides I think there's only two or three more chapters of this before I start the next book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but I won't spoil the title yet—it's an innuendo(sexual-related joke, even though the main characters in the book are like twelve), hehe.  
**

 **And Happy belated Birthday to Harry, Carina, and Neville! July 31** **st** **has a lot of birthdays in Harry Potter universe. Did anyone catch that Doctor Who reference, though? I still haven't started my summer homework and school starts in like three weeks, gg—but who needs that when you've got fanfiction, Internet gaming, and Tumblr…right?**

 **-Goes to** **emo-sob in the corner while blasting MCR and P!ATD—which I love.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed and see y'all next time, m'kay.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Thief of the Sorcerer's Stone

Carina stood, amazed at the sight. A giant chessboard filled most of the chamber floor, surrounded by the remains of broken chessmen. They were behind the black chessmen, and the white were the opposite side. Carina gave an involuntary shiver—the chess pieces had no faces. She could feel the goose bumps along her arms—this was not normal chess.

'We've got to play across the room.' whispered Mary, like the chessmen could hear them.

A small wooden door shone behind the white chessmen in the torchlight like a beacon.

'How?' said Hermione nervously.

'I think,' said Ron, swallowing, 'We're going to have to be chessmen.'

Ron boldly strode up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the horse. The stone immediately sprang to life and the knight turned its head to look down at Ron.

'Do we—er—have to join you to get across?' he stammered.

The black knight nodded its helmeted head.

'Well, Padfoot and I are the best chess players here—no offense, guys, but you suck—Prongs, you take place of that bishop. Moony, you be the castle. Leo, you can be the king and Padfoot you can pick between the other castle or the queen.' said Ron, eying the pieces carefully.

'Queen, since I am **the** queen.' she smirked.

'What about you, Specks?' said Harry.

'I'm going to be a knight.' said Ron.

The chessmen Ron had selected must've overheard him—they all walked off the board, moving to stand behind the board to the right. Carina went to stand in the space the chessman—was it woman?—left.

'White always goes first, look, there we go.' said Carina, looking at the board as a white pawn moved forward two squares.

Ron took the main charge of directing the pieces—although he failed to notice when his friends were in danger, but Carina had no problem yelling at him several times.

The first piece to be taken was their other knight—the white queen smashed him with her hand and dragged him off the board with the other.

'That's brutal.' said Carina, shaking.

'Had to let that happen.' said Ron, looking spooked.

'Take that bishop, Moony, it's free now.' Carina pointed.

The white chessmen had no mercy as they smashed through each of the black pieces like nothing. Carina only needed to tap them with her finger and the white pieces would walk off the board immediately, moving to stand near the black pieces that had left when they assumed their roles. There were soon more black and white chess pieces scattered across the floor along the chessboard. Until…Carina noticed something odd—the white queen looked directly at Ron.

'No…' she whispered, but it was futile. Ron had to be taken to checkmate the King.

'It's the only way.' said Ron, who'd heard her.

'What?' said Harry.

'Ron's got to be taken.' Carina choked out.

'NO!' shouted Mary, Hermione and Harry all at once.

'That's chess!' Ron exclaimed. 'You've got to make some sacrifices! I move up a square—that leaves the queen to take me—and Prongs can move to checkmate the King!'

'But—' said Harry, still trying to talk him out of it.

'Do you want to stop Snape or not?'

'Ron—' said Hermione.

'Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!' Ron shouted.

'There's no other choice.' said Mary, bowing her head.

'Ready?' called Ron, pale but determined. 'Here I go—now, don't hang around once you've won.'

Ron took a shaky step forward. The white queen wasted no time before she slapped him across the head, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

'Ron!' screeched Hermione.

The queen dragged him across the board to the side—a red welt forming along his forehead.

Harry moved three spaces to the left, and the king threw his crown to his feet. They had won.

Mary and Carina immediately ran up to Ron. He wasn't bleeding, but he'd have a nasty bruise later.

'Come on!' said Harry, who was at the end of the chessboard.

''Rina we can't just leave him.' said Mary, looking tearfully at Ron.

'But—the Stone…'

'I'll stay—make sure Ron's alright, then go back with the broomsticks and send a letter to Dumbledore with Maya.' said Mary, shaking her head.

Carina nodded. She didn't dare talk, lest she choke up. Her friends were close to being in a lot of danger—not that they hadn't been before, but now Carina realized it was not a just any adventure—they could die.

'Good luck.' said Mary, hugging Carina. Carina returned the embrace—she didn't know if they would be coming back.

She reluctantly left and joined Harry and Hermione, who'd been waiting impatiently at the door.

'Leo's not coming, she's gonna take Specks to the Hospital Wing.' said Carina.

Hermione nodded and Harry put a hesitant hand on the door.

'All right?' he whispered.

'Go on' said Hermione.

Harry pushed it open. Immediately, Carina gagged. A troll, even bigger than the one they'd seen in the castle, lay flat across the floor, a bloody cut on its head. She couldn't take the smell—Carina pulled her robes up to her nose.

'Hurry up!' she said, choking up with tears at the smell.

They quickly rushed over to the next door, which Carina opened in a flash. She didn't even look to see what was inside, but she was rather surprised when it was just a table with different shaped bottles on it in a line. Hermione was the last to enter, and the door shut just after. Bright purple flames sprung up in the doorway behind them—and completely black flames licked up from the doorway going to the final obstacle.

'There's no way out.' said Carina.

'This is Snape's,' said Harry. 'What do we have to do?'

'There's a paper.' said Hermione.

It read:

" _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

 _Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,_

 _One among us seven will let two move ahead,_

 _Another will transport one back instead,_

 _Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

 _Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line._

 _Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

 _To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

 _First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,_

 _You will always find some on nettle wine's left side._

 _Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

 _But if you would move onward, neither is your friend._

 _Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

 _Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides._

 _Fourth, the second left and the second on the right,_

 _Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."_

 _ **A riddle! Finally, no more physical things,**_ she sighed in relief.

Hermione had smiled, probably thinking the same thing. Harry looked at them like they were insane.

'Brilliant' said Hermione. 'This isn't magic—it's logic—a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever.'

'But we won't!' smiled Carina, nudging Hermione.

'Of course not!' said Hermione. 'Everything we need is here, on the paper. Seven bottles: three are poison, two are wine, one will get us through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple.'

'But how do we know which to drink?' said Harry.

'Wait a bit, Prongs.' said Carina, moving to examine the bottles.

 _ **The bottles next to the ends are nettle wine, cause they're the same…so the left ones next to them are poison and the last one is on the right, so no poison—that's five gone, so two left. Maybe Moony knows the rest…**_

'Moony, do you know the three in the middle—I only got the ones along the ends. The last one to the right can't be a poison cause it'll be next to the nettle wine on the left so that one has to be the one to go back.' said Carina, cocking her head to the left.

'I got it!' exclaimed Hermione. She moved to get the third bottle from the left. It was the smallest, and only held enough for two—so who would go?

'This one will get two of us through the black flames.' said Hermione, turning to look back at Harry.

'But who will go?' he said, looking between them.

'You and Padfoot.' Hermione stated.

 _ **What?!**_

'What?' said Carina, wide-eyed.

'You and Prongs have to go—you're smart and tough—you can help Harry more than I can…' she said, trailing off.

'Moony, you're ten times better than me at smart stuff!' Carina exclaimed.

'Me! Books and cleverness! There are more important things than being book smart—friendship and bravery, selflessness—oh—be careful!' said Hermione, wrapping her arms around Carina and Harry.

They were squished together by Hermione's tight embrace.

'Moony, you're strangling us!' choked out a pink Harry.

'Sorry!' and she let them go.

'Take the one to go back,' said Harry.

'Meet up with Mary and go to the owlery with her to send the letter to Dumbledore, we need him.' said Carina.

'But—what if You-Know-Who's there with Snape?' said Hermione.

'Well, Prongs was lucky once, eh?' said Carina, crooked smile on her lips.

'You drink first' said Harry, nodding to the bottle in Hermione's hands. 'You are sure which is which, aren't you?'

'Of course she is; she's Moony!' said Carina, smacking Harry on the shoulder.

'Positive.' and Hermione took a long drink from the bottle. A shudder was visible on her face—must taste bad, then.

'It isn't poison?' said Harry anxiously.

'No—but its like ice.'

'Quick, go, before it wears off.' Harry nudged her.

'Good luck—take care.'

'GO!'

Hermione turned and walked right through the purple fire.

Harry looked right into her silver eyes.

'Ready?'

Carina gave a small nod, blonde curls bouncing.

'Here we go,' he said, and picked up the small bottle. He shuddered, like Hermione, and passed it to her.

'She wasn't kidding.' Harry choked out.

Heart pounding, Carina took the bottle. She brought it to her lips tentatively. It was like an icy fire burning as it went down her throat. It also had a very unpleasant flavor—similar to the liquid dread she'd drank named Skele-Gro.

'Ugh!' she grimaced.

'Together?' asked Harry.

'Let's do it.' Carina grabbed his hand, and leapt into the black flames.

The fire was there—and it wasn't. She could see it dancing around them, but she couldn't feel it—and then they were on the other side, in the final chamber.

Carina straightened up as she noticed someone—but it wasn't Snape.

 _ **What the actual fuck.**_

It wasn't Voldemort—that's for sure. It was Professor Quirrell. He hadn't noticed them enter—Carina turned to Harry. He nodded. She jumped behind a pillar as Quirrell turned ominously.

'You!' said Harry, pointing at Quirrell. Carina felt the odd feeling of something pouring down her back as she turned the color of candlelight and stone bricks.

'Me.' he said in a calm voice. 'I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter. Shame your pretty red-haired friend isn't here—she'd be fun to break.'

Carina felt herself shudder at the thought.

'But I thought—Snape—'

'Severus?' Quirrell laughed, but it wasn't like his usual trembling laughter. It was cold and sharp, like a knife. 'Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?'

Carina could see Harry shaking his head.

'But Snape tried to kill me! And Carina knew it was you from the start! We didn't believe her though...' Harry trailed off.

'No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend, Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter-curse, trying to save you. And Miss Black is smarter than I thought, seems she's very perceptive—yes, she would be great fun to break.' he sneered evilly.

Carina felt herself frown in disgust and disbelief.

 _ **Quirrell, really?! At least Snape wouldn't say things like that.**_

'Snape was trying to kill me?'

'Of course, why else do you think he wanted to referee you next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't again. Funny, really…he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular...and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight.'

Carina let out a small gasp. Quirrell turned sharply, but Carina had already moved further behind the pillar. She heard a snap. Gathering courage, she peeked out from her hiding place.

Harry was tied up with tight ropes, Quirrell right in front of him.

'You're too nosy to live, Potter. You and your meddling friends. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew, you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone.'

'You let the troll in?'

'Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls—you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off—and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly. Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror.'

 _ **Mirror? Wait…no…it can't be…**_

Carina moved to look at what she hadn't noticed before—the ornate golden shine of the Mirror of Erised. While Quirrell was inspecting it, Carina moved to Harry.

He shook his head furiously. She nodded towards Quirrell and moved down the middle slope of the circular chamber. Fortunately, more pillars stood along the rim of the inner circle, and Carina hid once more behind another.

'This mirror is the key to finding the Stone,' Quirrell muttered, tapping the gilded frame. 'Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this…but he's in London…I'll be far away by the time he gets back…'

Carina's eyes widened. What if Mary didn't send the letter in time?! She pulled out her rowan wand for safety. Carina probably couldn't do anything to him, but it didn't hurt to try. She slumped down on one of the pillars. Carina was sure any second now, Quirrell would hear the pounding of her heart—she certainly did.

'I saw you and Snape in the forest—' Harry blurted out.

'Yes…' said Quirrell, not bothering to turn around. Quirrell walked around the mirror. 'He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me—as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side…'

 _ **Voldemort?! But…it's just him though? Right...?**_

Quirrell finished inspecting behind the mirror and looked into it. A look of longing and desperation filled his face.

'I see the Stone…I'm presenting it to my master…but where is it?'

Carina saw a bit of movement by Harry. He was struggling against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give.

'But Snape always seemed to hate me and Carina so much.'

'Oh, he does' Quirrell replied casually. 'Heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your fathers, did you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead.'

'But, I heard you, a few days ago, sobbing—I thought Snape was threatening you…'

Fear cut across Quirrell's face for the first time.

'Sometimes,' he said. 'I find it hard to follow my master's instructions—he is a great wizard and I am weak—'

 _ **He was in the classroom with us? What?!**_

'You mean he was there in the classroom with you?' Harry gasped, asking what she was thinking.

'He is with me wherever I go' said Quirrell quietly. 'I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those to weak to seek it…Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me' he shivered. 'He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me…decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…'

Quirrell cursed under his breath, as he turned to look at the mirror once more.

'I don't understand…is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?'

Carina heard an odd sound, like a faint echo.

 _ **What do I want most of all? Right now? I want all my friends to be safe…and not in danger…**_

Carina snapped out of her thoughts when Harry fell over. Quirrell hadn't noticed, but was still talking to himself.

'What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!' he pleaded.

Carina heard the noise again, and it seemed to be coming from Quirrell, an ethereal whisper.

'Use the boy…Use the boy…'

 _ **Harry!**_

Quirrell turned to Harry quickly.

'Yes—Potter—come here.'

Quirrell clapped his hands, and the ropes around Harry fell off. He got to his feet slowly.

'Come here.' said Quirrell once more. 'Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.'

Carina watched, wide-eyed, as Harry walked into the mirror. A faint movement in his pockets got her attention at once, but Quirrell hadn't noticed.

'Well? What do you see?' snapped Quirrell.

In a trembling voice, Harry replied: 'I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore, I-I've won the house cup for Gryffindor.'

This was the wrong answer. Quirrell cursed and shoved Harry out of the way. He moved towards Carina slowly. The voice sounded again. Higher and cold as ever, it said: 'He lies…he lies…'

'Potter, come back here!' shouted Quirrell. 'Tell me the truth! What did you just see?'

'Let me speak to him…face-to-face…' said the voice.

'Master, you are not strong enough!'

'I have strength enough…for this…' it hissed.

Harry stood, rooted to the spot, as Quirrell raised his hands. He began to unravel the turban that left his head never. He looked oddly naked without it. Quirrell began to turn around, showing him the back of his head.

Except…

It wasn't the back of his head. Carina let out a sharp gasp as she gazed upon it. A face, chalk white with red eyes and slits for nostrils, stared back at Harry.

'Harry Potter…' it whispered.

'See what I have become…' it hissed. 'Mere shadow and vapor…I have form only when I can share another's body…but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds…Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks…you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest…and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own…Now…why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?'

Harry stumbled backwards and Carina raised her wand.

'Don't be a fool' snarled the face. 'Better save your own life and join me…or you'll meet the same end as your parents…they died begging me for mercy…'

'LIAR!' shouted Harry suddenly.

Carina's eyebrows rose higher than ever as Quirrell began walking backwards at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

'How touching…' it said. 'I always value bravery…yes, boy, your parents were brave…I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight…but your mother needn't have died…she was trying to protect you…now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.'

'NEVER!' roared Harry, and he moved towards Carina, who stood next to him quickly.

'SEIZE HIM!' screamed the voice.

' _ **Levicorpus!**_ _'_

Quirrell had grasped on to Harry's wrist, but had been wrenched off as he flew up, held precariously by his ankle.

Harry let out a gasp of pain and stumbled backwards.

Quirrell cursed and fell back onto the stone floor, but he was on his feet in seconds. He aimed his wand right at Harry.

' _Crucio!'_

Carina shoved Harry away as the red jet of light went towards him.

Pain. Pain was the only way she could describe the effects of the terrible curse. She shut her eyes. White-hot needles were piercing every inch of her skin, from her head that felt like it was splitting open to the tips of her toes—organs twisting into knots as knives stabbed her. She had her mouth open, and sound wasn't coming out—or maybe it was, but she didn't know or care. Carina couldn't remember where she was when the pain ended. She gasped for air as the spell ended; it was like she was drowning under all the pain with every breath. Never, had she ever felt pain like that—not even when the troll hit her. Carina was on the floor—When did that happen? —And Harry was staring, wide-eyed at her and Quirrell, who'd been watching with sick pleasure.

'SEIZE HIM!' screamed Voldemort once more, and Quirrell didn't hesitate, he lunged on top of Harry, holding him by the neck. Carina couldn't do anything. Her hair was back to golden blonde. The spot where the curse had hit her ached like a broken shard stuck inside of her lungs. She watched, trying to sit up, as smoke came off of Quirrell's hands as he let go of Harry.

'Master, I cannot hold him—my hands—my hands!'

Quirrell held up his hands in painful awe—they were red and shiny with burns.

'Then kill him, fool, and be done!' screeched Voldemort.

He raised his hands to perform another curse, but Harry lunged at him, hands all over his face as Quirrell screamed in agony.

'ARHGHHHH!'

Carina tried to push herself towards the curve of the wall. Her muscles protested with every movement as she screamed in pain. Carina was sure she was going to black out—the pain was too much. She stopped and turned her attention back to Harry, who had been grabbing Quirrell with all his might, and he was being scorched by it.

'KILL HIM! KILL HIM!' roared Voldemort, over the shrieking of Quirrell.

'Harry!' Carina screamed, as he began to fall unconscious. 'Harry!'

Black spots swam in her vision. Voldemort wasn't screaming anymore. In her dazed state, she failed to notice Professor Dumbledore enter the chamber, prying Quirrell off of Harry. He landed with a loud thud, as a black shadow flew out of his body, disappearing in the shadows. Quirrell was barely moving—he gave a violent shudder, and his disfigured corpse moved no more. A flickering gray translucent figure bent by him, and disappeared like it never happened.

Carina couldn't take it anymore—her body screamed in agony as she took one last look, a bright purple cloth flew towards her, like a bird, and she closed her eyes for sweet, blessed relief.

~CFB~

She was dead. A blurry white light filled her eyesight and began spreading as she opened her eyes even more. Nope, never mind, not dead. Carina blinked several times to get used to her surroundings. She was in the Hospital Wing. A mountain was next to her, and another wasn't far away in the bed next to hers. She blinked again. The mountain was a bunch of candy and wrapped presents. Interesting.

Carina sat up tentatively—her chest still ached after, but not as much as it had in the chamber. Professor Dumbledore was sitting by Harry, who was awake in the next bed.

'Ah, Miss Black, you're awake.' said Dumbledore, smiling his crooked smile. The twinkle in his eyes was bright behind his golden half-moon glasses.

'Padfoot!' exclaimed Harry.

'W-wh-what happened in there?' she asked, voice shaking.

'You and Mr. Potter saved the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort's hands.' he said simply, turning to look at her.

'But Quirrell—I saw him—he died? Right in front of me…' she trailed off, closing her eyes as she remembered his final moments. She felt a lump in her throat of disgust.

'Ah, yes my dear. It is quite a shame you had to see that. But you see, how merciless Voldemort is with his followers, even the most faithful. He did not stay to see what was next, but rather abandoned his host, like a parasite.'

'But-but he just died?! A figure was there, a ghost, like…a reaper!' Carina exclaimed.

'You have seen Death, Miss Black.' said Dumbledore, a small understanding smile on his face.

'Death? You can see Death?!'

'It is one of the more mysterious ways of magic,' explained Dumbledore, 'I believe the matter is studied by the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Mysteries. Muggles cannot see it as clearly as wizards, but they can still see the spirit fading.'

Carina slumped into her pillows. She had seen a man die—evil, sure, but still a once living being before they had gone into the chamber. But, maybe he wasn't as much a man as he was before Voldemort—he did drink that unicorn blood…

'But, what was that spell he used? I-it was horrible…I couldn't remember why I was there afterwards…'

'You were screaming. Screaming so loud, I didn't know what to do.' said Harry, looking down in shame.

'That was the Cruciatus Curse' said Dumbledore solemnly, sparkle in his eye gone. 'It is one of the Unforgivable Curses, which can earn you a life sentence in Azkaban. With that spell, you don't need anything else to cause pain.'

Carina glanced towards Harry, who wasn't looking her in the eye.

 _ **Harry must feel guilty…he's probably beating himself up.**_

'It's all right, Prongs. You probably couldn't do anything; if I hadn't pushed you, how else would you have stopped Quirrell?' said Carina, smiling.

Harry opened his mouth, but closed it right after. Of course he couldn't have done it. Dumbledore regained the twinkle in his sky blue eyes.

'Hey, what happened to the Stone?' said Carina, frowning as she remembered.

'It has been destroyed' said Dumbledore simply.

 _ **Wow, imagine dying after six hundred years…**_

'What's all this?' Carina pointed to the mountain next to her.

'Gifts, from your friends and admirers.' smiled Dumbledore.

'Admirers?!'

'Oh yes, what happened in the dungeons is a complete secret, so of course, everyone knows.' Dumbledore said matter-of-factly.

'Well, at least you get free stuff.' said Carina, reaching out to grab a bag of Every-Flavor Beans.

'The twins tried to send us toilet seats' said Harry laughing.

'Course they would—it would be very interesting to have seen what Poppy did.' said Carina, smirking.

'Madam Pomfrey.' Dumbledore corrected. 'And she was not amused; she felt it wasn't very hygienic' he smiled. 'I believe your friends, Miss Granger and Fawley and the Weasleys have been very concerned for you. They will be much relieved when they see you have both healed nicely.'

Carina pulled out a golden-brown bean.

'Ah! Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans! I was very unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and I lost my liking for them ever since, but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee.' said Dumbledore reaching out for it.

She handed him the bean. Carina smirked in compete amusement as Dumbledore choked on the bean.

'Alas! Earwax!'

Harry burst out laughing.

'I believe it is time for me to go.' Dumbledore stood abruptly and walked out of the Hospital Wing, robes billowing as he whirled out of sight.

A faint pleading got her attention. Several redheads and two brunettes were pleading with Madam Pomfrey.

'Just five minutes.' whined Hermione.

'Absolutely not.'

'But you let Professor Dumbledore in…' said Harry from across the room.

'Yes, but that was the Headmaster, quite different. You both need the rest.'

'But we are resting, see, we're in bed and everything.' said Carina, smiling brightly.

'Oh, very well, five minutes, only.'

Ron, Fred, George, Mary, and Hermione were all running up to their beds.

'Padfoot! Prongs!'

'Specks! Moony!' said Harry.

'Twins!' said Fred and George.

Carina smiled at them. Harry began telling the story of what happened in the chamber when the twins came up to her bed. Fred rubbed the back of his neck, and George had his hands anxiously rubbing each other.

'Er—We just wanted to say—' began Fred.

'We're both really—' said George.

'Sorry!' they chorused.

They looked like sad puppies, eyes begging her to accept their apology.

'Hm.' said Carina, faux-contemptuous. She raised her nose high into the air. 'The great and merciful Lady Padfoot accepts your pitiful apology, but do that again and she will not be as forgiving.' she said in a tone befitting a queen.

They both got onto their knees and bowed their heads, like they were praying.

'Thank you o' merciful Lady Padfoot, long live the Queen, long live the Queen.' cried Fred, pretending to wipe a tear.

'We promise we'll never do that again, Mistress Padfoot.' said George, beginning to stand up.

Carina smirked. Their antics got the attention of all the people in the room, even Madam Pomfrey's, who didn't question a thing and returned to measuring potions.

'That's right, the Lady Padfoot rules us all with a iron fist, if you don't, you suffer her wrath.' said Mary, joining in.

'Padfoot, vanquisher of order, rules, and puns.' said Harry, smiling.

'Vanquisher of Puns?!' Carina gasped in disbelief.

'Lady Padfoot makes the best puns; how dare you question her skill at wordplay!' exclaimed Ron, catching on.

'Should the mighty Lady Padfoot pun-ish the ignorant Lord Prongs?' questioned Carina. 'Alas, a vote must occur in order to defeat thy Prongs.'

Carina glanced around, a small smirk barely visible. Mary, Ron, Fred, and George had their hands in thumbs down, but Hermione gave a thumbs up.

 _ **Prepare to get roasted, my deer Prongs.**_ Carina smiled evilly.

A faint rumble of laughter began the war of words.

'Thou has most unjustly doubted the mighty Padfoot at her most significant skill—puns—doe she does not feel thy hart is worthy for the most a-grazing puns.'

'Lady Padfoot must be having a ruff time coming up with these puns.' said Harry, after a brief paws.

'You were an en-deer-ing foe, but it is obviously a stag-gering lost for you, Lord Prongs. Even if your puns are making Madam Pomfrey doe-eyed.' smirked Carina.

Madam Pomfrey did indeed look like a deer in the headlights, but recovered quickly.

'That's enough—you've had nearly fifteen minutes! Out!'

And so ended their fawn-d battle of pun-ches.

~CFB~

Madam Pomfrey had given them a dreamless sleep potion—so they could be well rested for the next day. But that didn't stop them from badgering her about the feast later on—the last one of the year before returning to the orphanage. Surprisingly enough, an unexpected visitor stopped them from their constant nagging.

Hagrid was in the too-small doorway, heaving and holding, what looked like a tablecloth. He took one look at the both of them, and burst into wet, loud, tears.

'It's—all—my—ruddy—fault!' he sobbed, the checkered tablecloth being wiped all over his face. 'I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh both could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!' Hagrid collapsed into more sobs in his "handkerchief".

'Hagrid!' exclaimed Carina.

'Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him.' reassured Harry, tentatively patting him on the back.

'Yeh could've died! Carina got 'it by one o' the wors' curses of wiz-wizardkind!' he sobbed even harder. 'An' don' say the name!'

Carina and Harry shared a look.

'VOLDEMORT!' they both bellowed.

Hagrid looked so shocked—he didn't speak or cry anymore—he just straightened up.

'We've met him, and we've been calling him Voldemort for a while now…Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog; me and Padfoot've got loads…' said Harry.

'Oh!' exclaimed Hagrid, 'That reminds me—I've got yeh both a present.' He reached into his long moleskin coat.

'It's not any of those rock cakes, is it?' asked Carina anxiously.

Harry laughed, and Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.

'Nah, Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter get 'em. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead—anyway, got yeh this…'

He pulled out a nice leather-bound book and a few rectangles and squares. Hagrid handed her the glossy rectangles and she peered curiously at them. The first one was of a man—her father to be exact—with her mom, both laughing with each other as they shoved each other back and forth. She moved to the next picture—this time, it was seven people—her parents, by the looks of it, and the chocolate haired woman and the other men she'd seen in the mirror, but a lot younger—they looked to be around their early teens, probably around thirteen years old. Another man was there—a rat-faced looking one that she hadn't seen in the mirror. Odd.

They were making faces and smiling at the camera good-naturedly. Carina moved to another picture, her eyes a luminous green. It was a picture of just the boys, Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail—all smiling as an odd formation of clouds moved around dreamily. Wait a second—those weren't clouds—it was…a portrait of her father! In the clouds, with different colors all over as they made up his aristocratic facial structure.

 _ **They were brilliant! They were…gone…**_

Carina felt her eyes well up with tears, and Hagrid smiled at her, giving her the end of his large tablecloth.

'Thanks, Hagrid.' Carina said, with a watery smile. She wiped the tears before they could fall down her cheeks.

Harry had no words; he looked just as speechless as Carina felt when she'd seen the pictures.

'I sent a few owls out ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos…knew neither of yeh didn' have any…d'yeh like 'em?'

Carina nodded furiously. She couldn't wait to put them in her trunk and get down to the End-of-Term Feast.

~CFB~

Madam Pomfrey finally let them both out of the Wing—Carina, a bit sore from sitting so long, but perfectly healthy nevertheless. They both raced to the Great Hall; Madam Pomfrey had held them up a bit for a final check up before letting them out of the white prison. Carina stopped just before entering the hall. Anxiety filled every pore of her body as she imagined walking in to the Great Hall. Everyone was in there, buzzing with excitement at the talk of what happened with the Sorcerer's Stone.

Harry turned to her—maybe he was nervous too.

 _ **Suck it up!**_

Carina pushed the doors of the Great Hall open dramatically. If she was to be the one that held everyone's attention, she would do it magnificently. Harry trailed close behind her as a hush went over the entire hall.

'What are y'all looking at?' she called, raising an eyebrow.

A faint buzzing ensued, which turned into a loud voices talking over one another.

Carina smirked. Of course that would make them start talking. She moved to sit by the end of the Gryffindor table—where they usually sat. She sank down next to Mary, who had her squirming black pug in hand.

'Bombur!' she exclaimed. He was happy to see her as well—his curly tail was wagging around with furious energy, even his butt was shaking with excitement.

The hall was swamped with the emerald green colors of Slytherin, mixed with silver streaks that were along the edges of every banner. The largest one of all, a serpent coiled around a silver ribbon, was behind the High Table.

Carina sighed. If only they'd planned a prank for the End-of-Term banquet.

Dumbledore arrived not a moment sooner, and the hall became quiet once more.

'Another year gone!' he called cheerfully. 'And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into a delicious feast. What a year it has been!' _**I'll say.**_ 'Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were…you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts… Now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and sixty-two points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two.'

The Slytherin Table burst out in raucous cheers. Carina got a clear view of Malfoy stamping his feet on the ground. _**Ew.**_

'Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin,' said Dumbledore. 'However, recent events must be taken into account.'

The room went deathly quiet. A pin could drop and everyone would hear it. The bright smiles of the Slytherin table began to fade.

'Ahem,' said Dumbledore smiling. 'I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…'

'First, to Miss Mary Fawley, for quick thinking when stuck in the Devil's Snare…' Mary's caramel colored skin turned a faint shade of pink. 'I award Gryffindor house fifty points.' A loud roar burst from the Gryffindor table—they were no longer way behind the other houses. The twins were some of the loudest in the table, shouting 'Woo! Leo is a genius!'

'Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house, fifty points.' The table was rumbling in all the applause and cheer from the Gryffindor table. They were now ahead of Hufflepuff by four.

'Third, to Miss Hermione Granger, for use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.' Hermione buried her face into her arms—she was also shaking slightly. They were slightly closer to Ravenclaw, as the table was groaning and creaking as the floor stampeded with loud cheers.

'Fourthly, to Mr. Harry Potter…' the room went quiet immediately. 'For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points' Carina almost dropped Bombur—they were now tied with Slytherin with four hundred and seventy-two points. But Carina wondered what he'd give her; she hadn't been called yet…

'It takes a special kind of courage, to put another before themselves for a Cruciatus curse…even if they are your best friend—' the entire hall looked at Carina with a faint wince. '—Therefore, for outstanding loyalty and bravery, I award Miss Carina Black sixty points.'

Carina almost fainted—the cheers from the Gryffindor table were so loud, someone might've thought a bomb went off, so loud was the applause and shouts from the table. Piles of people were slapping her back, she would be sore for weeks, but that didn't stop her from roaring with pride and joy. The only thing that would make this better was a prank for the whole hall. She looked at the Slytherin table, a wide smile spread across her face. Malfoy had the most horrified face, she'd have thought someone had slapped him; he was so red with rage.

'Which means,' Dumbledore boomed over all the noise, even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the end of the Slytherin house victories. 'We need a little change of decoration.'

With a clap of his hands, the green banners swirled into scarlet and gold hangings, and a towering Gryffindor lion replaced the large Slytherin serpent. Carina's hair was a curly mass of red and her green eyes looked up to the Head table, where Snape was shaking McGonagall's hand with a forced smile that resembled a grimace. Still, she felt a sense of something missing.

A boom went off along the walls of the Great Hall. Carina whirled around. The smiles and cheers started dying down as another explosion occurred by the ends of the room. More loud booms echoed throughout the entire hall. A shriek from the Ravenclaw table got her attention. A boy was pointing up. Carina slowly began to look up. All the candles blew out, turning the hall pitch black. The only source of light was the night sky. It was—a silver dog and a stag? They were zooming all over the sky and then several golden words formed. It read: " _You might think this is the real joke, but wait till you see the walls…"_ The lights all flared up at once.

She looked at the walls quickly. They were covered—no—drenched, in obnoxiously bright-red, glossy paint. Large golden silhouettes of a stag, two dogs, lion, wolf, and two hyenas were running across the walls, until they all merged into more words.

" _Enjoy your meals…—Prongs, Padfoot, Leo, Moony, and Specks—With a little help from Forge"_

Carina glanced towards the Head Table with a small smirk. Professor Dumbledore had a curious face as he glanced towards the Gryffindor Table. McGonagall was pale and thin-lipped and also looking at the Gryffindor Table. Snape was glaring very hard at the corner of the table they sat at. Flitwick was also a bit curious as he stood glancing back and forth around the halls—no doubt looking for the source of the paint.

'Well, that was an entertaining display, now, let us eat!' boomed Dumbledore, clapping his hands. The normal-looking dinner instantly appeared on the tables, and hesitant students began digging in. Carina turned to the slightly guilty faces around her.

'Care to explain what just happened?' asked Harry.

'Well, you see,' said Hermione. 'We wanted to surprise you both after you got better—so we got the twins to help us with it.'

'So what's in the food?' whispered Carina.

'A special something.' winked Fred, who was next to her.

'Except not in ours.' said Mary, pointing to their end of the table.

'Yeah, we really don't want to have it in ours.' said Ron, who was devouring a helpless piece of chicken mercilessly.

'It?' asked Harry.

'It.' confirmed George, who was sitting next to Hermione.

'Just tell me!' exclaimed Carina.

'Have you read the end of the potions list in the Prank-Book? The one that said "Do not use, except for end/beginning of the year surprises"?' said Hermione, who was eating her pasta like there was no tomorrow.

Carina's hair turned blonde. **That** potion.

'You used it!' hissed Carina.

'Yes we did.' smirked Mary, who was obviously enjoying her reaction.

'What is it?' asked a still-oblivious Harry.

'Let's just say it's a roaring surprise.' said Fred, grinning knowingly.

A loud pop sounded from the Slytherin end of the hall. More followed soon after, and Carina turned curiously to see the results of **the** potion. Small baby lion cubs were waddling all over the floor of the Great Hall. The Slytherin cubs were neon green; the Ravenclaw lions were fluorescent blue, and the Hufflepuffs, a blinding shade of yellow. The only table unaffected by the potion, however, was the Gryffindor table.

Carina roared with laughter as she caught sight of a pale blond cub in the Slytherin table. Malfoy made a good cat, she mused. The entire table would've probably exploded in more raucous laughter—had not McGonagall stood up, nose flared, and lips invisible. Dumbledore, always amused by their pranks, made no move to stop her. Snape, however, was a different story. He too, had been turned into a lion, but a fully-grown one. He meowed with annoyance of all the noise.

'I demand to know who did this!' called Professor McGonagall, over the laughter of the Gryffindors.

The table went silent. Carina, always the innocent, made to stand. Her friends around her also stood, on the benches that were still shaking with mirth.

'Hey Minnie! How's that for a going-away present!' she yelled back. A cocky smile began to form on her lips—and on the others as well.

McGonagall looked like she'd been slapped, but she quickly regained control.

'To the Headmaster's office with all of you!' she roared.

Dumbledore stood with a small smile.

'Off we go!' smiled Dumbledore in a pleasant tone.

Mary nudged her.

'Should we tell her to drench them in pumpkin juice?' asked Mary.

'I guess?' Carina shrugged.

'Fred, would you tell McGonagall?' asked Mary.

His answer was a loud shout.

'Minnie! Drench them in pumpkin juice!'

McGonagall did not reply; she was too busy trying to prevent the small cubs from leaving the fire-truck red hall. Dumbledore led them to the familiar stone gargoyle.

'Miss Fawley, would you care to do the honors?' said Dumbledore, waving his hands.

'Chocolate Frogs.' Mary said proudly.

The entrance opened with a dull scraping. Dumbledore led the way to the office, and Hermione was last with a very nervous expression. When they finally reached the top, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were very dumbfounded when Dumbledore pulled out a deck of cards.

'What should we play today?' he asked, sitting in his comfortable chair. Fawkes eyed them all with a beady eye—he always examined newcomers. Carina moved to sit in her chair—a small scarlet beanbag on the side of Professor Dumbledore's desk.

'Let's play…poker!' said Fred, sitting in his designated beanbag.

'What?!' exclaimed Harry, who was looking at everything in awe.

'You do know how to play poker, right?' asked Carina, turning to Harry.

'Yes—but what?!' he said again.

'We are going to play cards, Mr. Potter' said Dumbledore simply, handing out the cards.

And they did play cards—until the end of the day, when Dumbledore sent them off to their dormitories.

~CFB~

'Did we really just play cards with Professor Dumbledore?' asked Ron, who was still in a small daze.

'Yeah, you lost every game, how don't you remember that?' Mary said with a smirk.

'I do, but we just played cards with Dumbledore.' said Ron again.

Carina shook her head. He was hopeless!

'Oh, I almost forgot!' exclaimed Fred, who was in the process of talking to George.

'Would you like to come to the Burrow sometime in the summer?' asked George, turning to them.

'Sure?' replied Mary.

'Do you guys have a fireplace?' asked Carina.

'Course we do.' said Ron.

'Alright then, sure!' smiled Carina.

'What about you, Moony?' asked George.

'Well, I'm not completely sure, but I'll ask my parents when I get home and owl you.' said Hermione thoughtfully.

'Prongs?' asked Ron.

'Er—well, I'm not completely sure the Dursleys will let me…but I'll ask them.' said Harry a bit awkwardly.

They walked in a happy silence to the Gryffindor common room. Carina was perfectly content—until a loud rumbling got her attention.

'I'm super hungry!' she moaned.

'Go eat something?' said Mary, who was holding her chubby dog again.

'Alright, I'm going to the kitchens—want anything?' asked Carina, straightening up immediately.

'Get me some treacle tart!' exclaimed Harry.

'Ooh! Me too!' said Ron, who was always hungry.

'I'm fine, thanks.' said Hermione.

'Take Bombur up to the dorm, please.' said Carina, making puppy eyes at Mary.

'Fine.' said Mary with a playful eye roll.

'Thanks!' and Carina ran down the empty hall.

Dumbledore had let them out an hour before curfew, so she couldn't stick around to chat with anyone, but that didn't try and stop the rush of students trying to get her attention. In the end, she decided to "blend in", and quite literally too. Carina was reaching out to tickle the pear when a vaguely familiar voice sounded from behind.

She whirled around quickly. It was a rather tall Slytherin boy. He had a face Carina knew she should remember, but she couldn't.

'What brings you down to the kitchens?' he smirked.

'Well, I don't know what else you can get at a kitchen, except for food…but I guess I'm here to talk to the house elves.' Carina smirked back.

'Seems like famous Black can't stop getting attention.' he sighed.

'Seems like random Slytherin boy is getting really annoying.' Carina snapped.

'Random Slytherin boy?!' he put his hands to his chest dramatically. 'I am wounded.'

'Who are you, again?' asked Carina a bit hostilely.

'Well, technically I'm Castiel, but you know me as Daniel.' he said matter-of-factly.

'Castiel? Why did you tell me it was Daniel?' Carina frowned.

'It's my middle name—I give it out to people I don't really know.' said Dan—Castiel.

'Castiel is a mouthful, I think I'll call you Cas.' she turned to the portrait again.

'No, no, no, it's Castiel.' Cas frowned, shaking his head.

'Too late.' she sang, and she tickled the pear.

The handle formed and Carina didn't hesitate to pull it open quickly. When Carina turned to close the door, Cas had a confused look on his face. His blue eyes were wide like a sad puppy's, and his head was cocked slightly to the side.

'I guess you can call me Cas.' he sighed, bowing his head.

'Great! You can call me Padfoot.' Carina said loudly, and the door shut quickly.

 _ **He is really weird. But at least I have a Slytherin—acquaintance? Yeah, that sounds right.**_

~CFB~

Carina had almost forgotten about the exams—when they'd received the scores, she was very surprised to see that she was second in the year—only after Hermione, but that was to be expected. The morning after the End-of-Term feast, or as the Gryffindor students had taken to calling it, "Lion's Victory feast", was very hectic. She couldn't find the things she had the day before! Her left shoe was missing, several socks, and even her pillow was gone.

'LEO!' Carina bellowed.

'WHAT?!' replied Mary, just as loud.

'HAVE YOU SEEN MY SHOE?!'

'NO!'

'WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING; YOU'RE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER?!' roared Hermione, who was cramming her books into her already full trunk.

'I don't know?' said Carina sheepishly.

'Eh.' said Mary, shrugging her shoulders.

'Maybe Bombur took them?' said Lavender Brown, the blonde that also shared their dorm.

'Nah, he's too well-trained.' Carina waved her hand.

'Did you look under your bed?' asked Hermione, an eyebrow raised.

'Wow Moony, I didn't know things could get under your bed.' said Carina sarcastically.

'Hey!' said a muffled Mary, who was digging under her own bed. 'I think I found your shoe—and those socks you were whining about in like December.'

'Great!' Carina smiled.

A fluff-covered Mary emerged from her four-poster. A very fluffy, once black shoe, was in her hands.

'I guess I'll just wear it like that.' Carina sighed, reaching for her left shoe.

'You are super lazy.' commented Mary, who was dusting herself off.

'Thanks; I try.' Carina smirked.

Interestingly enough, no one commented on her shoe; rather they were asking how they did the Lion prank. Especially the Ravenclaws, they were a huge pain as she was trying to turn Snape red and gold with Harry as a final farewell to their _favorite_ teacher. It had taken several threats to remove every follicle of hair from their body from Carina to get them to leave her alone.

They had left the castle in what seemed like seconds. Floating across the lake in the wooden boats, Hogwarts looked bigger than ever—it was hard to believe that it had already been an entire year. The Hogwarts express was scarlet as usual as they loaded loudly into the compartments. Ms. Campbell had also been notified that they were going back already, so she'd be there when they got to the train station.

When they got the papers notifying them they couldn't use magic outside of school—Carina got curious. If she wasn't born in Britain, wouldn't that remove any trace they had of her using magic? Maybe they had a Ministry of Magic in the States.

The twins had told her that everyone had a Trace in Britain. It happened as soon as a magical child turned eleven. But as far as they knew, it only affected kids that didn't live with a fully-grown wizard or witch. Would Ms. Campbell count as a witch? Probably not, but they didn't live in Britain so that would make a difference. Maybe they'd give a warning, but it didn't hurt to try a bit of magic outside of school while they were in America.

Ms. Campbell was waiting for them by Ron's family when they'd gotten to the Platform. Bombur was going insane with all the people around him, so Carina stuffed him in her leather bag. He barely fit, but at least it stopped him from squirming around. A loud squeal got her attention.

'There he is, Mum, there he is, look!'

It was a small redheaded girl that could only be Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley. She was next to who had to be Mrs. Weasley.

'Harry Potter!' she squeaked. 'Look, mum! I can see—'

'Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point.' scolded Mrs. Weasley.

Carina smiled. Maybe it was time to make introductions. She walked confidently up to Mrs. Weasley with Ron, Mary, and Harry, who was unbothered by Ginny's loud voice.

'Hello.' smiled Carina charmingly.

Mrs. Weasley turned quickly, and the blood drained from her face.

'Gin?!' she gasped.

Carina frowned. 'No, I'm Carina.' she corrected. 'Ginny's talking to Harry.'

'Oh, never mind; for a second there, I thought you were someone else.' smiled Mrs. Weasley quickly.

'Oh, alright then.'

'So I hear you get into quite a bit of trouble in the castle.' said Mrs. Weasley, trying to steer the awkwardness away.

Finally, her pride and joy—pranking.

Carina smiled devilishly.

'Ah, have the twins mentioned that?'

'Oh no, I thought we already had two.' sighed Mrs. Weasley, shaking her head.

'Actually, I think there's four more to add, if you want to include Spe—Ron.' smirked Carina.

'Not if I can help it.' said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

'I wanted to thank you for the sweater and fudge—I wasn't sure if Sp—Ron said thanks from me.' smiled Carina innocently.

'Oh, it was nothing, dear.' said Mrs. Weasley with a smile.

A brutish voice sounded from behind them.

'Ready, are you?'

Carina turned along with Harry, to a large—no the largest—man she'd ever seen. He had a big mustache and was purple in the face. He looked like he wasn't getting enough oxygen, he was so mad. Carina shook her head. She shouldn't be so rude to Harry's family, even if she was the spawn of hell, according to Professor Snape.

'You must be Harry's family!' said Mrs. Weasley, always friendly.

'In a manner of speaking,' said the fat man coolly. 'Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day.' he walked away towards a blond, horsey-looking woman, and a now largest boy she'd ever seen.

 _ **Never mind—be as rude as you like! Wow! That must be the boy Hagrid turned into a pig! There's not much of a difference though…**_

'Wow, he's a charmer.' said Carina sarcastically.

'I forgot, that was Uncle Vernon.' chuckled Harry. 'The woman next to him is Aunt Petunia, and then there's Dudley.'

Carina's hair turned black quickly. Her eyebrows dipped down quickly into a frown.

'So this is the loser that picks on you.' she snarled.

'No, no, no, Padfoot!' said Harry, holding her back.

'Don't! Let me go, Prongs, I'll make sure he'll never threaten you again!' Carina growled.

'Come on dear, let's not resort to violence.' said Mrs. Weasley, who turned pale again.

 _ **Deep breaths, deep breaths!**_

Carina turned her hair it's usual wine color. The only thing that wasn't hers, however, was her bright emerald eyes.

'Let's go introduce ourselves.' said Mary, who'd seen Harry struggling to hold her and came to help.

'Er—not sure they'll appreciate that.' warned Harry.

'They'll love us! I know I do!' sang Carina, who was walking towards them menacingly.

Carina boldly strode up to Mr. Dursley.

'Hello.' she said coldly.

'Er—hi.' he said anxiously.

'I'm Carina. Carina Black. I'm a friend of Harry's, and he's said many pleasant things about you all.' she smiled evilly.

Petunia looked the most perturbed by her—she was eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

'Oh, really?' said Vernon, voice going higher and face turning a deep shade of violet.

'Yeah, but he especially told me about…' she trailed off to make it more suspenseful.

'About who?' asked Mary innocently, who was next to her.

'Dudley!' she screamed, and they all jumped.

'M-me?' said the very large boy who was trembling with fear as Carina walked towards him slowly.

'Yeah, something about how you are extremely nice to him, and love him so much, that sometimes his glasses break.'

'Oh—er—yeah.' stammered Dudley.

'Well, see, if I see them broken by the time we see him again…it won't be pleasant.' Carina threatened with an evil leer as she stopped in front of him.

'O-okay.' said Dudley fearfully.

'Now, you see here—' began Vernon furiously.

'No! You see here, Dursley!' Carina's hair turned pitch black. 'I will not see any sign of Prongs—Harry, getting hurt, or things will get ugly!' she roared.

Carina made herself grow several inches so she was eye to eye with the short, fat man. Eyes literally blazing, she looked right into Vernon's squinty black eyes.

'Do—not—bother—Harry.' she said quietly.

Carina made herself normal. They all looked very dumbstruck as Vernon nodded, furiously purple.

'On that cheery note, hope you have a great holiday, Prongs!' smiled Carina, whirling around to see a very thunder-struck Harry looking at her with awe.

Harry went to hug her.

'Oh, I will,' smiled Harry, as he pulled back. 'They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…'

Carina smiled. They grow up so fast. Ms. Campbell had already found Mary, and she was walking straight towards them. Bombur nearly jumped out of her bag as Harry left, but she managed to squash him back into the warm bag.

'Now, let's go back home.' said Ms. Campbell sternly. 'I've been waiting here for almost two hours!'

Ah yes, it was time to go to their second home. Hogwarts was now their first and only true home.

~CFB~

 _ **A/N: THE END!**_

 _ **Finally! Now I can start the second book, which I will not spoil the title of, until you see it for yourself. ***_ _ **insert Lenny face here**_ _ *** And, Castiel! I really wanted a Cas to be in this story—I love Supernatural, but this won't be a crossover, sadly. Although there might be some moments that sound familiar (puppy eyes get me every time)…I will be posting the second story after this chapter, so extra long chapter and new story chapter! I decided to combine the two last chapters because I didn't feel like just putting one 5k chapter and then another.**_

 _ **Why was Mrs. Weasley calling Carina "Gin"? Why was she so surprised when she saw her use her ability? Why is Ginny already fangirling over Harry?! Find out next time, in…. THE SECOND BOOK!**_

 _ **So, thanks for sticking around if you read this far, or thanks for reading if you just found this story! :) Also, thank you, reviewers/favoritees/followers.**_

 _ **So long, and good night,**_

 _ **Pugatron.**_


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